Chuck vs the Roundup
by Jimmy 144
Summary: Sequel to Chuck vs the Rum. Set after the end of Season 2. Chuck and Sarah working to take down Fulcrum, and eventually the Ring. Going after an Elder. Chapter 11 Rounding them up.
1. Chapter 1 Searches

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck.

Chapter 1—Searches

**USC Hospital**

Steven got to the hospital a little early. He brought a change of clothes for Sarah, Chuck, and Casey. They had just finished an operation capturing over seventy Fulcrum agents where a shed with a large amount of drugs was blown up. Their clothes had residue from the explosion. Steven had Sarah's overnight bag which was unpacked.

Sarah had moved her clothes to the new apartment. Chuck had planned to take Sarah to their new apartment after the going away party for Morgan. He had candles and rose petals around the apartment like they did for Devon and Ellie. But the attack at the beach and Casey's capture left those rose petals drying on the floor. Sarah would not go back to the apartment without Chuck. She spent the night with Chuck at the USC hospital.

Chuck and Sarah had led a force of their own teams and a National Guard Air Cavalry unit to get Casey back. During the operation when the shed with the drugs was blown up, a secondary explosion occurred which threw Casey's and Chuck's van off the road. They had possible head injuries and a dose of the tranquilizer that was also in the shed. Both were taken to the USC Hospital and Sarah went along.

Steven went to Chuck's room first. Chuck was just getting up out of his bed. And Sarah was still asleep in her bed. Steven quietly laid the clothes down. And went to Casey's room.

Casey said with a smile on his face, "You know those nurses and guards came checking in our rooms almost all the time last night." Casey shook his head.

"Well, did they tell you when you'll get out of here? Kelly call again this morning. I think this is getting more and more important that you three talk with him." Steven gave Casey his clothes.

"If those nurses ever got a bad reading last night, I would be surprised. They never said a word. So I assume that we are okay. But no one has said when the doctor will show up."

Chuck poked his head in the door. "Thanks for getting the clothes. Anyone hear when they'll feed us. I didn't get anything yesterday. Then they kept me up all night. I don't know how Sarah slept." When Chuck had turned to let the nurse in, Steven gave Casey another twenty.

The nurse said that they could get dressed anytime they wanted. The doctor would be here soon to release them. They were released about twenty minutes later.

**Castle**

CIA Director Kelly Robins was on the screen at Castle. "I think we have an opportunity against the Fulcrum Elder Maximilian de Brouget. First we need to confirm whether the Fulcrum agents you captured yesterday are under his supervision. Sarah's analysts think that if Chuck can identify them and put the information in his web search and model that we will be able to confirm that. There are pictures and a video of them being sent for Chuck to review.

"Then tomorrow night Old Max is holding a dinner at his ranch near Sacramento. I would like you three to go to that dinner, copy the files from his computer, and check his office safe for any documents that could link him to Fulcrum activities.

"I have the invitations for you. You'll be going as Mr. and Mrs. Charles Michelson and Mr. Daryl Michelson. The covers are included in an email I just send you. Cover documents are on their way. Do you have any questions?" Kelly was looking at the screen.

Sarah was very concerned, "I assume we'll need to change our appearance. Max would have our pictures. Did you already do that in the IDs?"

"Your IDs did not include pictures. They aren't finished. You can insert the pictures at Castle. This brings up a good point. Chuck if you see advanced surveillance equipment, Max maybe trying to use biometrics to confirm his guests. If that is the case, abandon the mission and get out of there."

Chuck was trying to figure out how long this was going to take. He looked at Sarah, "Say can we get that Liz Reynolds to come out and help? Even with Dad and Eldie on this I don't think we could get this done before tomorrow afternoon."

"I am sure she would love to." Sarah looked back at Chuck with a smile. She remembered the almost teenage infatuation Liz had about Chuck. "I'll contact her and see if she can come. If not I'll ask Mr. Wiggins who else is available."

Kelly asked, "Well any other questions? Casey?"

"Fine here." Casey grunted.

"Okay unless there are other problems, we'll do another conference tomorrow morning. Thank you." Kelly signed off.

Sarah began, "Casey, can you get the IDs fixed? I'll check the files they sent for our covers. Chuck, I'll get your dad and Eldie to come over. You have any problems with this?"

Chuck was a bit worried. He had not faced a constant series of flashes. "Well, no. I'll see."

Sarah looked at him and saw his expression. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"It's okay. Let me see." And Chuck opened the file. He opened his program in another window and started with the first input.

About a half hour later Steven and Eldie came into Castle. Eldie lingered in the back. This morning was the first morning he was actually going to be sitting around the angel. Sarah had stayed with Eldie after he got shot at the docks. She went with him in the helicopter and stayed with him at the hospital. He had remember the angel with him and told his friends, LT and Brad, that she was the reason he was alive. He was amazed that he was actually going to work with her.

Chuck was bent over his computer and looked very serious. Steven went over to Sarah. "What are we doing?"

"Chuck is going through the pictures and video of the Fulcrum agents we captured the yesterday day. He is trying to flash on them and then put the information he gets into the web search." Sarah saw his look of concern, "What? Chuck wasn't that sure about this. What is wrong?"

"Well, I am a little surprised you haven't noticed. Chuck probably doesn't watch the news too much. I know I don't. Successive flashes can be pretty hard. I know Chuck has been able to adapt better than I have. But it could be pretty hard on him. You better plan on getting him a break on a frequent basis." Steven motioned to Sarah. "Let's go see how many he has done already."

They walked over to Chuck. Sarah ran her hand through his curls. "Hey, how you doing?"

"I got two done. Now that Dad and Eldie are here we ought to be able to go faster." Chuck looked up at Sarah.

"Son, I never did this many on a continuous basis. How are you planning to do this?" Steven was pointing at the picture folder.

"Well, I thought I would flash on the pictures. Record the information that went with the picture and give it to you to put in the search program. I figured I could do six every hours and be done before midnight. With you and Eldie and then Liz we should be able to finish by midnight. That will give us enough time for the search and models to complete before we leave for Sacramento. Why?"

"Charles, you know what the flashes do to you. I could never do two in a row without laying down for a while. You get headaches from them sometimes?"

"Yeah."

"Then okay. This may take a little while longer. But unless you want me to take your place in Sacramento, you take a break after no more than five of them. Sarah, you ought to check on him to make sure he does. It will do us no good if you get a migraine and can't even look at the pictures." Steven was looking down at his son. It reminded him of the times he used to when Chuck did not want to do his homework.

"Okay, this will take longer." Chuck was about to turn around and start. Before he did he saw Mary and some of the others coming into Castle for their morning meeting. "Sarah, I'll keep working this. But our teams need to keep working their investigations. They might be able to add to the information I get from this."

"Okay, I'll get them started and on their way. But I'll be right back to check on you." Sarah walked over to meet Mary and the others.

Mary Ramirez from the FBI, and her team Chief Scotts and Lawrence Taylor from the FBI, were given the job of following up the shot out at the dock and the events at the garage. Both involved drugs and Fulcrum. The next team with Clay Carston as the lead was looking into a connection between Fulcrum and a smuggling operation being investigated by several agencies. His team included Officer Lea Suz from CBP and Brad Hill from FBI. Finally, the team to be assigned to the Roark spin-off included Alice Kazan from the FBI as the lead. Her team included Tom Newton from Secret Service and Sky Marshal Vera Townsman. There was one other team last team led by Marshall Kayle Poston included Kristen O'Day from IRS and Elton Devers from FBI. While Elton was recovering from gunshot wounds at the dock, they would fill-in where necessary.

Sarah reviewed the status of everyone's work so far. Most of it had been cut short by the incident at the garage and then the battle at the Fulcrum ranch. Sarah assigned Kayle and Kristen to Mary's team. With the two incidents they had more follow ups to complete. Sarah went to get Chuck when they were almost complete. She thought this would be a good break point and he needed to know what everyone was doing. She asked each lead to give him a quick summary.

Casey review his details' assignments with the teams. The details were composed of Special Forces personnel from various units assigned to SOCOM. Casey's people would provide additional surveillance on the targets assigned to Sarah's teams. They were also provided to provide additional protection of the teams. Three of their members had been wounded in the shooting at the docks and the ranch. These details were also assigned to protect Chuck, Sarah, and Casey.

Chuck outline the information he needed for the search program. "When you collect the information, get it back to Eldie. Also, we are getting in an analyst from Sarah's organization in D.C. She will be helping and knows how to set up the searches. One other thing when you can get pictures of the people you think may be involve with Fulcrum. We can verify that and put their information in the search. Finally, you all did a great job at the ranch."

As everyone started to go Chuck and Sarah said, "Be careful out there."

Chuck went back to the pictures. Steven and Eldie were busy typing the data from the recordings into the searches.

"Casey, are you going to have your protective details at Max's ranch?" Sarah was looking at the map Casey had displayed on his computer.

Casey grunted, "We need some cover if things go bad. The biometric sensors that Kelly talked about could be placed close to the actual party site. The ranch patio is back here. We have to drive almost a half mile to get to the house. Then even though we may not see any sensors in the house, we are way back here at the patio and then you get a sensor. There is no clear escape route."

She pointed to the lobby area of the house. "Could you try to stay here while we go back to the patio or whatever room the party is held? Then if we see a sensor, you could cover our exit?"

"That will work if Kelly is right about a diminished force under Max. But we could easily be surrounded." Casey pointed to the rooms where the extra Fulcrum guards could come from.

"Do we need to get back with Kelly and see if we can get more invitation to this dinner?"

"It might be a good idea to check. I'll keep checking this. You might want to ask Kelly." With a positive grunt, Casey returned to the screen.

Sarah went to check with Kelly and see when Liz would get in. She found the information on Liz's arrival and sent a note to Casey to get her a ride. She would arrive in about three and half hours. Sarah was impressed with how fast Liz got ready and got a ride. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Eldie was staring at her. She decided to ignore it right now. Confronting the behavior right now, like she did Lester, was not appropriate right now. Maybe she would think of something else. When she got done send an email to Kelly and checking her other emails, it was time for Chuck to take a rest. _'Well, maybe.'_

Sarah went over to Chuck, "How you doing?"

"Okay, Dad was right this is getting harder. I am starting to fall behind. Let me finish these notes and I'll take the break."

As she was standing with him, she was carefully checking on Eldie. _'He is still watching. Hopefully, this will settle it for him. I am with Chuck. Actually, this could be some fun.' _Her smile was getting bigger.

Chuck got up with eyes closed. He was getting a little tired from the strain of the flashes. Sarah caught his arm and started to lead him to the holding rooms. She noticed that Eldie was still watching. _'Watch this.' _ She got on her tip toes and started to kiss Chuck. As she put her hand around his back and the other on the back of his head, she made certain that Eldie got the point.

Chuck was a little startled. He looked at Sarah and then quickly gave into the moment. He bent down to complete the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. _'I like this!' _He whirled her around into the holding cell. When the back of his legs hit the bunk, he smoothly sat side by side while still in the embrace.

**FBI Detention Cells**

Mary had split her team. LT came with her to the detention cells, while the Chief, Kayle, and Kristen went to the new warehouse where the 'evidence' from the garage was being secured.

Sarah told LT to use the name Max with the drug smugglers. When he was there before, he had shown them a letter with the Fulcrum symbol on it. They opened up immediately for him. He was able to confirm the garage was a trap.

The guards brought the smugglers up to the interview room. Mary went first. She spent a half an hour trying to get more information from them. Alice had tried the same thing before and got no information.

LT came in next. He told them the trap at the garage worked nicely. Almost a whole SWAT team got trapped down there. As the dirt bags laughed it up. LT got in that he was going to get something from Max to show his gratitude. They both perked up. LT told them he was going to a party up at Max's the next day. They went on and on about being there themselves and how Max had his own little trap area. His dining room would seal up like a holding cell and that his office was another trap. His real set up was in the basement and had a vault door to it. After LT was certain these dummies had no more information, he told them next time he should be able to get them out. He calmly walked down the hall and buzzed to get out.

Once out of their sight he motioned to Mary that he had some good information. He told her what it was. Mary decided it would be better to go back to Castle and let them know.

**Castle**

Chuck and Sarah spent this last break going over the details of the ranch with Casey. He had found places where a few of his protective detail could provide some cover. They went over the information that Casey had put together.

Mary and LT came down the stairs to Castle and saw Sarah, Chuck and Casey gathered together. As they came closer they could see the map of the ranch. LT started, "Oh, good. This makes a lot more sense seeing the layout of the house."

The three of them turned around. Casey, who was speaking, gave a grunted, "What?"

Mary explained, "We went down to the FBI detention cells to see the drug smugglers from the docks. I did not get much of anything from them. But LT using that Fulcrum letter got a bit more." She nodded to LT.

"I mentioned Max and that I was going up to a party at his ranch. They got all excited and told me about their experiences there. Max's dining room can turn into a holding cell. And his study or office is not the real thing. It is a trap too. The real office is down in the basement." He studied the floor plan and pointed to a door. "This door should be the one that leads to the basement. There is another door down there. They said it was more of a vault door than anything else."

Sarah turned to both of them, "I really appreciate you coming back with this. It is very important."

Chuck turned and shaking their hands said thank you also. Casey looked at the map and said, "Give me a little longer. I come up with a different strategy."

At that point one of guards let Liz into Castle. The first thing she got out was, "Oh wow, all three of them." She was nervous and excited at the same time when she started down the stairs and came over to the map.

Chuck moved over to her first, "Hi, you must be Liz. How was your trip?" Chuck held out his hand.

Liz went to reach for it. When she took a step to take his hand, she tripped and fell into Chuck. He moved quickly as she was going down. It clear she would have hit face first, if Chuck had not reached to grab her and stepped into her path.

Mary and Sarah reached over to steady her. Chuck let go as soon as they took over.

"Oh, I am sorry. I sure did not mean to do that. Please accept my apology." Liz had real concern in her face.

Chuck began instantly, "Oh, that's no problem. Ask Casey, I am sure I have made more mistakes." Casey grunted.

Sarah said, "Here please have a seat. Like I said when we asked you to come. We are trying to get the 72 profiles of the agents we caught into the search and model program. Chuck is looking at the pictures and then he records the information. You then take that and put it into the program. Steven and Eldie are working this too."

Steven and Eldie came over and shook her hand. Mary and LT said hi too.

Mary started to leave, "We are going to head back and see what else we can find."

Chuck looked over and said, "Good hunting and be safe."

Mary went over to Sarah. "You know that we are ready to take your place any time you want. Max may know who you are without any extra help. They won't know who we are."

Chuck and Casey watched Sarah deal with this question. "Mary, you may not know how much I appreciate that. But Chuck and I are now the best bet to get through any safe or security lock. And from what LT found, it looks like there will be a couple. Right now, you can help us best by getting more information about Fulcrum's activity."

Mary looked at Sarah for a moment and then said, "You know we'll do our best for you. You guys be safe too." Mary and LT left.

Chuck moved over to Sarah and held her hand. They sat down together as Chuck continued to review the pictures.

Liz looked over at Eldie who seemed to be getting ready to question what had just happened. "You know she's right. She was able to crack a bank's vault safe when a top NSA agent could not. You probably already heard that Chuck make it through two Roark cipher locks. Finally, Casey is the one to make sure they will make it home safe. Come on let's get our job done."

_A/N Okay trying to include a little more Charah and get the relationships out in the open. Please review. _


	2. Chapter 2 a BBQ

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck.

Chapter 2—a BBQ

**Castle**

Sarah was worried. _'I saw that look in his eye when we got this mission. The charge ahead no matter what look. He saw this as his obligation to do, just to make sure it was safe.' _

Chuck had gone through three more rounds of pictures. He was up to thirty-two now. He and his dad had never done this and were not sure if it was possible. Chuck was finding that the pictures showed Fulcrum agents that were in the organization for many years. Each picture produced Intersect images which combined made fairly extensive files on each of the agents. Many of those agents had overlapping missions which led him into several cross references and larger files on each. So the flashes were getting longer.

Casey had decided to stay out of this. He had seen what a toll this was having on Chuck. He told Sarah that they should cancel the mission. Even though they were after a Fulcrum Elder, it would be pointless to go on a mission when they start with a barely capable member.

Sarah was now sitting with Chuck through each of the sessions. She'd hold his hand and massage his neck and head. She had just stepped in back of him and wrapped her arms around him during this flash. When the flash finished she could feel his body relax. She continued to hold him while he made the recording.

"Come on, time for a break." Sarah let him go so he could stand up. She got a hold of his hand and led him to the back holding cell. "Are you sure you can do this? You seem to be getting tenser every time you flash."

"Ah I am okay. It's just long and hard." He held her close. "These breaks have been helping." He held her chin up and reached down to kiss her. He kissed her while holding her tight. She held him and carefully rubbed his hair.

Sarah moved to the side and he got down on the cot. He turned over and she began to massage his back and neck. "You know I love this. I mean I like, I mean love the kissing but this is really good right now."

"I know, hush. It will be easier." Sarah looked down at him. She would start with his back and then move to his neck. Then at the end she would reverse it to pull the pain down from his head. As she continued to massage his back she remembered her sensei at advanced hand-to-hand combat school. Her sensei believed it was pointless to learn advanced skills of combat unless you also knew the ways to relieve the pain from that combat. She taught Sarah many ways to relieve pain through stretching exercises, massages and pressure points. Sarah was hoping these breaks and massages would be able to relax Chuck enough to continue. He had not complained of a headache but she could tell the stress was mounting.

Ten minutes later she woke him up with a kiss on his head. He had fallen asleep about four minutes into the massage. "It's time to start again."

Chuck sat up and pulled Sarah down to his lap. "You know I couldn't do this without you." He just held her for a minute.

She reached back to him and kissed him. She continued to hold his arms around her. "Hum, you know we could just scrub this mission. We don't have to go."

"No." Another kiss. "I think if you help me on these breaks, we'll be able to get it done. Come on."

They went to Chuck's position again. He sat down and opened the file for the next picture.

Sarah said, "I'll be right back. I am going to check how everyone is doing." She moved on to Casey. "Anything new?"

Casey said, "Look you know what I think. We'll have everything ready. We can leave here as late as three in the afternoon and we'll get there in time. That should give you some time if Chuck needs a longer break."

"Okay. I'll go check with the others." Sarah moved on to Steven, Liz, and Eldie.

Steven stood up. "How's he doing?

"Alright, I am giving him a massage I learned back in school. It seems to help." Sarah looked for approval in his eyes.

"Yes, that is fine. I am sure you're doing the right thing." Steven nodded.

"And how are you guys doing?" Sarah looked over at Eldie and Liz.

Liz spoke first, "I'm good. This is so sweet. I love actually being out here. Sweet."

Eldie was still trying to get over the shock of seeing his angel with Chuck. _'He is a great guy. From what LT said about the end of the shoot out at the dock, he's is just amazing. Then at the garage and the ranch. If Sarah is with anyone, he is certainly the one. Maybe he has the angel watching over him.' _

Sarah looked at Eldie, "You okay?"

"I'm fine. But if the others won't say it, I will. I am starting to get hungry."

"Oh yes. Of course, I am sorry. I should have thought of that. Thanks, I'll get something set up." Sarah moved over to the phones.

"Mary, good I am glad I got you. Have you finished up? Okay, that would be great. Say we aren't going to be able to go out and get anything to eat. Yeah, we did. Oh yes, I am sure that will be good. Thank you so much."

Sarah when over to Chuck. She stayed there patiently while he finished recording. "I called Mary. By the time you get done with this round, Mary will be here with supper. She said there is a real good barbecue place next to them. She is going to get one of their family packs and bring it here."

"Oh boy, if she thinks it is good, it must be great. Thanks, what a good idea." He turned back to the screen. "Okay just a few more then the break."

Sarah sat down and started watching again.

Forty minutes later, Mary, LT and the Chief came in carry bags from the barbecue place. They had barbecue Tri-tips, ribs, chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, pinto beans and a jug of sweet tea. Everyone crowded around them.

LT said, "Hope it was alright, we found this guy bumming a ride. He said he'd help bring in the food. So, we brought him along."

The Chief tried a small swipe at LT.

Mary was next to Sarah unwrapping the dishes, "So what did you have for lunch, yogurt?"

Sarah was caught off guard, "Most of us did. And before you asked, I do not know if Chuck had anything."

"How's he doing?"

"Okay, so far. He does five and takes a break. Right now I am giving a neck and back message during the break. I think we are doing okay." Sarah was finishing up.

"I did mean what we said before we left. You three are supposed to be in charge, not going on missions yourselves. If we can take your place, we would certainly be happy to." Mary put down the last dish.

"I know, but with those safes there is no else that could do it. If there was another way, we would certainly consider it." Sarah motioned to Mary, "Come on let's get a bite before all these guys do."

Chuck got in line and Liz made sure to follow. "Hey, how you doing?" Chuck asked.

"I'm good. You are so amazing." Liz said.

"What? What did I do? I'm just looking at the pictures." Chuck was smiling at her.

"Oh, please don't." Casey was behind them. "We've been trying to control this for the past two years." Casey said with a grunt.

Liz started laughing, "They said you were like this, but I said it wasn't possible. Oh, this is too good."

"Wait until you've been around longer and can name the grunts," the Chief chimed in.

"Yeah, his only problem is that he can't type grunts. It would make his reports a lot easier to read." General Beckman came on the screen. Director Robins was sitting next to her. They were at a conference table at his office. "Please carry on."

Kelly started, "I am sorry we had to cut in on your supper. We had a small development. The Michelsons received a replacement invitation. Apparently there is a roundup after the dinner. And the other twist is that Max never goes anywhere without his laptop. So, we expect him to pack it and take it with him on the trail."

"As you saw in the briefs about the Michelsons, they are supposed to be accomplished ranchers themselves." Beckman said.

Kelly looked up from the report, "Sarah, we don't have anything in your records that you had any horseback riding lessons or experience. Was there anything from before you met Director Graham?"

Sarah shook her head, "I have never had riding lessons." Sarah was not sure whether to smile, _'This has to mean the mission is cancelled. We will be able to end this torture.' _

Steven said, "Son, do you remember how to ride? We sent you to those summer sessions at that ranch for a few years."

"Wow that was like more than ten years ago. I guess I remember some of it." Chuck looked up from his last bite.

"Colonel, you have ridden before. Do you think you could teach Chuck how to be passable?" Beckman added.

"Yes ma'am." With a grunt.

Liz was about to roll on the floor.

"Okay, then the plan will be that Sarah has to excuse herself from the round up. Casey and Chuck will go on the roundup." Kelly said almost chuckling because of Liz.

"How long is the roundup?" Chuck asked.

Beckman responded, "The invitations you are getting says it will be for five days. Two days ride out, roundup the cattle, and two days back."

"So how many people would be going on this roundup?" Chuck asked.

Mary spoke up, "It would depend on whether this was a real working roundup or one of the vacation ones."

"Wait you know about this?" Chuck asked with some surprise.

LT broke in, "What you guys don't know what Mary does for fun?" When Chuck, Sarah and Casey shook their heads, LT said, "Mary you really ought to fill your bosses in on what you do in your past time."

"Yeah, one of my little things besides cooking is that I have belonged to several of California's riding clubs. My family had a ranch in southern California and I used to ride for them." Mary explained.

"Right, the ranch wasn't as big as XIT but by California standards it was big. And oh by the way, if you haven't figured this out, she was a real chef when she got out of school." LT finished.

Sarah was not that happy that the mission would continue, "So Mary should go instead of me. That way there are three people out there. They would be able to cover each other better."

Chuck just realized, "Wait a minute. Would it make more sense for Casey and Mary to be the husband and wife? They are the better riders. I could be the young bother who hasn't been out riding in years. Like I am the one who has not ridden in years. And then I would have more time to try and get into the computer."

"We'll let you figure out the best matches for the Michelson profile. But Chuck will have to go on the roundup. He will be the only one that can get through the encryption, if we are right about Max." Beckman concluded.

"One other thing, I would image this is likely taking a toll on you. Chuck, the closer you get to finishing the review of the pictures, the more secure the mission can be. If it appears that most of his men were not among the captured, that they are in fact the riders for this roundup, we will cancel the mission. I will not send the three of you into a trap. Thank you. That does look good. Sorry for interrupting." Kelly signed off.

Sarah started first, "Mary, I did not mean to put you on this mission. You have seen some of what the Fulcrum will do but they are ruthless."

"Yeah, remember Vincent. He would kill be just because they saw him." Chuck said and then corrected himself, "Well, there has been a couple. Sorry, please continue to tell her how bad it is. And then we need to talk. I'll go start on the pictures."

"Casey, explain this to her." Sarah went to get with Chuck. "What is the matter?"

"Look I am not sure how to explain this so it does not come out wrong. It's like that stupid situation with Jill. At the time, I did not know she was anything but what she claimed. An innocent doctor going to a convention. I could not let her go to the briefing as a target. I am still terribly sorry that you went instead. But Mary is almost the same. She thinks she could handle this, but I am not sure. She has only seen Fulcrum a few times and then not up close. And I am in the same dilemma. If she does not go, then you have to go."

_A/N I thought Mary and Casey could be kind of fun. Please review and let me know. _


	3. Chapter 3 the Rest

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck.

Sorry about the delay, had a few too many people in the hospital at once. Broken hip, pneumonia, appendicitis and trips everywhere.

Chapter 3—the Rest

**Castle**

"Look I am not sure how to explain this so it does not come out wrong. It's like that stupid situation with Jill. At the time, I did not know she was anything but what she claimed, an innocent doctor going to a convention. I could not let her go to the briefing as a target. I am still terribly sorry that you went instead. But Mary is almost the same. She thinks she could handle this, but I am not sure. She has only seen Fulcrum a few times and then not up close. And I am in the same dilemma. If she does not go, then you have to go."

Sarah looked at him for a while, "I know. I have a hard time asking our teams to do things that could get them hurt. I am not used to this either. Always before, the only thing I had to watch was you. And that was hard enough. I keep thinking back to the time that bomb went off in the Herder. I thought that was you. I was devastated. Don't you ever do that again."

"Got it, no blowing up. Stop hitting." Chuck was holding his hand up to protect himself.

"Okay. But I'll be the one who tells Mary to go in my place. You were right when you first talked about how to get the teams ready. But we are in the fight already and they have been in three times where shooting. But we have to get ready for this. We have to get them trained and ready for this."

Chuck smiled, "Why then we'll just have to take Mary for a training run. Only you come along. You can be the girlfriend of the reckless brother who has not found his place. And you are just a city girl out for fun. You don't know how to ride." He could see she was smiling too. "Okay, why don't you go talk with Casey about the idea? I'll get back to the pictures."

"Okay." She gave him a kiss. _'Mary can go and see what it is like. If it works she can help us get the others ready. And I'll be able to watch Chuck and stay with him.'_

"Hey Casey, we have a better idea. We want our teams to get the experience they need to be able to work on their own. I f we have Mary go along with us on this roundup, she'll be able to get the experience. We will all be there and be able to help her." Sarah was waiting for Casey to at least grunt okay.

"What, are you intending to go on Walker? And how are we going to do that?" Casey was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"We think it would work, if you were Mary's husband, and Chuck was the brother. Then he can bring me along as his new girl friend that does not know how to ride. That should cover us. And we'll have four people there. How does that sound?" Sarah was smiling at him.

"Just wait Walker, if you two are thinking that for some reason that Mary and I. I mean that she would go along with this." Casey was starting to look very unhappy.

"You need a little practice on how to go under cover? Or you don't want Mary to be your cover wife?" Sarah was smiling bigger.

"I didn't mean that Walker and you know it." Casey stood up. "Okay, you win this one. Let's go talk with her. You know I just about had her convinced not to go."

Casey and Sarah went over to talk with Mary. Sarah started, "Mary, we need to ask you if you'll come along. I know I was against it. We don't really have any other way of doing this. So you know we have been up against these people for many years. We have lost many good people in this war, because they were not ready. You have to be on top of it all the time."

Mary looked in Sarah's eyes. "Sarah, I understand. You saw my file. For the first few years I was undercover in our division fighting organized crime. I was at many meetings where one side or the other just started killing. I know what it is like. I'll go."

"Well there is only one other way to get you to say no," Sarah was now smiling. "You'll be Casey's wife. You will be Mrs. Michelson. Casey will be the husband. Chuck will go as the brother. And I will go as his date. Is that still acceptable?"

"Certainly, I like to rough tough silent type." Mary smiled back, while the ever present growl was getting louder.

Casey finally said, "Are you sure you are alright with this?"

"Yes, it will be fine. How good a horseman are you?" Mary asked.

"I rode when I was a kid and a little in Afghanistan. I know the basics and how to push cattle. I am not into dressage or any other equestrian type riding. But I don't know at all about Chuck. And Sarah, you haven't right?"

Sarah said, "That's right. Oh, I had a pony ride or two. But I know that does not count for what a roundup entails. By the way, I think we have to bring our own to this little shindig. How we going to do that? We don't really have a recruitment program for cowboys."

"Funny, I always thought that. Never mind." Casey was not sure whether all of Bryce was behind her yet or not.

Mary saw the tension building. "I can help there too. Actually my dad will help. You know if Casey and I left right now we could have Shadow ready to ride for an hour or two. That way, we'll know if there any problems. He is close to the best for handling cattle."

Casey nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. Do we need to rent some trucks to get up there or can we impose on your family some more and borrow some?"

"Oh that would be fine. Sarah you really should come with us and learn at least a little." Mary was starting to get into this.

"Oh that would be a good idea but I can't leave Chuck." Sarah just shook her head no.

"Well, how are we going to do this?" Casey got a piece of paper. "I have transportation laid on to take you to Sacramento tomorrow afternoon by air. But we can't do that with the horses. We will have to truck them up there. We'll have to leave before noon with them already loaded."

"Casey, we can do that from my place. Dad and his wranglers can get that set up in the morning. We will take the two horses for us. We will take another three so we know we have one that will work with Chuck and Sarah. Dad can have a couple of the guys go up with us to handle the horses. They won't need to know what is happening. We'll explain our covers. Dad already knows what I do, so it should work. Anyway it would look better if the Michelson's showed up with a couple wranglers rather than them handling the horses."

"Mary that sounds great. Chuck and I will meet you out at the ranch." The three of them continued to work out the details and their covers. Casey and Mary left before the next break period for Chuck.

Sarah went over to Chuck. "How you doing?" Chuck was looking at little unfocused. "Chuck, are you alright?"

"Couple long ones. Got a lot on them but did not make much head way. I only got three done."

Sarah took his hand, "Come on. We are taking these breaks just for this reason. It is getting harder and you need a little rest."

"Well, what happened with Mary?"

"She agreed and her family still has a ranch with several horses and the equipment to transport them. She and Casey went down there to get set up and will meet us at the ranch."

Chuck got Sarah around the waist. He held her, "You are so special. Thank you for getting that set. It will work." He reached down and kissed her.

**Rancho Ramirez**

Casey and Mary pulled up to her home. Mary went into the house and came right back. "Well my dad is not home. He went down to visit my uncle in Texas."

"Well is any of your family around?" Casey was starting to wonder why they came.

"I guess not. We'll have to get our foreman." Mary took him around to the side house. She rang the bell and a big guy maybe an inch taller than Casey and twice as wide came out. "Good evening Ray. This is Colonel John Casey. We need to acquaint Casey with Shadow. Then in the morning we need to take five of the horses up to Sacramento with us. If Shadow works out tonight, we'll take him. Then I want Dusty. For the other three let's take Nacoma, Flicker, and Blue. To start, please saddle up Shadow and Dusty and bring them over to the riding barn. We will meet you there."

"Yes Ma'am." Ray went back into the house.

Mary told Casey, "Ray won't do that all himself. He is a fabulous organizer. He'll have two or three or of the wranglers get the horses ready and then meet us in the barn. Come on, I show you around." She took him around to the corral. "The dark Appaloosa is Shadow. The light tan Quarter horse is Nacoma. Over there in the next coral are Flicker and Blue."

There were around twenty horses in the corals. Casey was having a hard time keep up with the differences in the horses, especially at dusk. The brown s and tans were blending and he was not that familiar with the subtle differences.

Mary took Casey around to the side of the corals. "You can pretty well see the borders of the ranch from here. From the road out front, the ranch goes all the way back to those mesas. The north is that dark stand of trees. Actually the trees are on our land. Then to the south is the lake. The end of the lake is the end of the ranch."

"This is really impressive. How long has this been in your family?" Casey spread his arms.

"We think it goes back to 1814. Before that it belonged to another Don. But he passed away that year, and no one knew of another family member. My great, great, great grandfather came over from Texas to run and then own this ranch. And if you are wondering, our Texas ranch is the larger than this. It is not close to XIT." Mary pointed to the barn.

The barn was a small stadium with bleachers and large riding area. The riding ring had large barrels spaced around the area. Ray had two of the wranglers with him and both Shadow and Dusty were saddled.

"Okay, you ready to ride? We have barrels up because they are the best obstacles for practicing tight cornering. It will help you remember how to ride." Mary mounted Dusty and Casey was ready on Shadow. "How about you follow me for a little?"

Mary began with a slow pace and circled and looped the barrels. She took a couple quick corners and stopped. Casey rode up beside her. "Well, I definitely think you know how to handle a horse. We could go another thirty minutes before we need to put them up. Would you like to try drive a couple steers over to the coral there at the end?"

"Sure, I think we can do that." Casey reached down and patted Shadow.

"Ray, can you let a couple steers in. We'll move them back to the coral on the West side." Ray waved his hand okay. In a couple minutes two good size steers were in the ring.

"Casey come on, the two of us will get the first one. I'll go right." She raced off to catch up with the steer. Casey matched every move and they corralled the steer in just a few minutes.

"Very good. Do you want to try the other one?" Mary asked. Casey nodded and raced off to get up with the steer. It is a little harder to guide a frisky steer into a coral with just one rider. Casey had a time of it. He only ran into a problem when he did not immediate know how the gate worked. But he was successful.

"Wow Casey, you did very well to say that you are not that much of a rider. Ray can you take them back and rub them down?" Mary dismounted and walked over to Casey. "I'll show you the house and answer any questions you have about how we'll do things."

They made their way back to the house. Mary led the way and showed Casey a really big house. The dining room had a table that could seat ten but there was enough room to extend it and seat another ten. The formal living room was more like a reception area. Casey was impressed again. Mary took him to the bar and asked if he want a drink. Knowing the trail would likely be dry, especially for what they had to do, he asked for a little Scotch.

**Castle **

It was almost midnight. Chuck had just finished another batch. Sarah was with him again. She helped him over to the back room. It wasn't as much hugging each other now as him holding on.

Sarah started the normal banter, "Chuck, how you feeling this time?"

"Well, good the end is in sight Sarah. We are almost done. You think we can get this in the record book? Well, at least the book that your folks keep on what all Intersects…oh never mind."

She just smiled at him. He sat down and she started the massage.

Two hours later, Chuck was sitting on the cot again. His part of the job was finished. Steven, Eldie and Liz were still working the final inputs.

Chuck looked up at Sarah. "Come here," and he got her to sit on his lap. "You know without you we would not have been able to do this. I am so tired, and you helped me be able to keep going. Now I don't know what to do now."

"What do you mean?" Sarah looked at him like he had forgotten something.

"I don't know where to go to get some sleep." He admitted.

"We can just go back to the apartment." She saw his look. "Oh, you were planning something weren't you. Now we are two nights late and I agree, we don't care about anything accept going to sleep." She knew she was right when his head fell to his chest. She reached over and kissed him. It was a longer one than most that night. She was so happy with him. "Okay, I want to make it special too. Why don't we go back to my old hotel, get a room and just sleep until two? That will give us time to check the results and catch the plane."

"You okay with that? It would be wonderful. How about we have one of the guards drive us over? I would probably fall asleep before we get there. And while I know you wouldn't, I don't want you fighting the wheel to stay awake." He looked at her to see if she would agree.

"Fine with me. Let's tell everyone and get out of here." Sarah grabbed Chuck by the arm.

_A/N Mary and Casey are on, let the riders start their roundup. Please review. _


	4. Chapter 4 the Trip

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck.

Chapter 4—the Trip

**Rancho Ramirez**

Mary and Casey had gotten their drinks and made their way over to the leather coach.

Casey looked at it and rubbed his hand along the accenting woodwork. "Very impressive, has a nice feel to it."

Mary toasted him. "Would you like to watch a game?"

"No this one is fine here." He said.

She wondered if he meant that. "Well, should we go over the covers?"

"Certainly, what do you want me to call you?" Casey decided to have some fun and try to scare her straight.

She was a bit surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Okay, we are Mr. and Mrs. Charles Michelson. I'd rather not be called, Chuck, Charles, or Mickey; and Michelson seems kind of long." Casey raised his eyebrow. "So, what are your choices or preferences?"

"So why don't we call you Shadow. At least when you are on my horse, someone will come over." She smiled.

'_Oh this is fun.'_ Casey responded, "Somehow I thought you really wouldn't want me to call you Dusty. Old Blue doesn't even fit. So, you actually get to pick."

She thought back to the passports she had seen for the Michelsons. The full name was Katherine Ann Michelson. "I know. How about Kam?"

Casey liked it. "You know that might stick." Casey refilled his glass. "Kam, do you want another?"

"Yes, please." She took a sip. "So, what do I call you? You were a pilot right? Did you have a call sign we could use?"

"They used to call me Bear." He had a drink.

"Oh, Sugar Bear?" Mary immediately replied.

"No." It was just wrong. It struck a nerve. Casey took another long drink.

"Sorry," Mary realized it must have been someone else, "Is she okay?"

"Hum, yeah I think." Casey finally woke up to what he was just asked. "Not now, not ever. You asked them and well, you better not."

"What we are married not even an hour and you're already going out with someone who calls you Sugar Bear? And you already have your friends convinced to cover for you?" She looked at him intently. In a second she started laughing.

"What?" Casey looked hurt.

"Oh, I am sorry. That's someone who is real." She took a drink and out her hand on his knee. "I am sorry. I know I have showed you everything about my home. But I understand you and Sarah would never do that. When I was undercover with those gangs, any mistake about my home and I would have been sent home piece by piece. I know." She poured another for both of them.

Casey grunted and took another drink.

Her smile went up. "I know. I'll call you G-Bear, 'cause you grunt all the time."

Casey grunted, _'well it was better than Mickey.'_

"Okay, G-Bear what else do we have to talk about. You read, just like I did, the run down of our ranch. Do we need to know anything else?" Mary asked.

"Well, let see. Last I remember on the trail, sometimes I would stand in line to get a plate of food for myself and my friend on guard duty. Unless we want to poison each other, might be nice." Casey took a sip.

"Okay, good point. I like my steaks medium on the rare side. Potatoes and beans are okay. Coffee in the morning, black unless it tastes like a boot, then a little sugar. Sweet tea, if they have it on the trail. Otherwise water is fine." Mary finished.

Casey smiled and clinked his glass against hers, "The same will be fine. If they have peppers or onions, add them to the plate. Scrambled eggs in the morning. Bacon and a biscuit are fine."

"Agree. So what else? How do we go to the bathroom?" She smiled and took a drink.

"You tell anyone, other than maybe tip Walker off, and you'll wish of other things. I learn to use baby wipes and powder to keep the rashes down." Casey said as he took a long drink.

"So just so we are clear, I wear long johns on the trail. No laughing about those either." She looked at Casey.

"Actually, that's a good idea. Haven't worn them since I was a kid. We really ought to take some of those for Sarah and Chuck. They probably won't know enough to do that." Casey thought a minute and took a drink. "Actually, it would be nice if you left Sarah a call to tell her. Second thought, just tell them we'll have outfits for them. Make it easier than trying to explain it all."

"Okay, what's the last question? Whether we really go to bed together?" Mary asked.

"Well other than I don't expect to see any beds on the trail. What are you talking about?" Casey took another sip to see how this was going to turn out.

"Hey we will be in sleeping bags. While if you want, I do have a sleeping bag for two, I was talking about putting our bags together. We can sleep next to each other or act like we have never known each other. Good way to get killed." She said and filled their glasses.

"Yes, we sleep together. I would guess we wouldn't have to paw each other. The profile said we had been married for ten years." Casey said and took another drink.

"So what does that have to do with anything?" She looked puzzled.

"Okay, the file said we have no kids. So what's the explanation? We tried and can't, or we don't want to." Casey answered.

"Oh, I liked the tried and still working on it." She took a sip and looked at him.

"Well that will work. We certainly wouldn't be trying on the trail, you think?" Casey looked at her with a twinkle in his eye and put his hand on her knee.

"Yeah, you're right. So what's left, whether we kiss each other on the trail?" She took another big drink and filled the glasses again.

"Well, that would be kind of awkward. I'm not a trick rider." Casey almost laughed.

"No, I mean a morning kiss or a going to sleep one. Certainly some people will be watching us and would expect us to kiss sometime." Mary took another drink.

"You know, well, you are right of course. We would be expected to. What you want to try this now or something? Decide now whether we really want to do this or call Sarah and Chuck and tell them no?" He was smiling and getting another big draw of his drink.

Mary looked at him seriously, "I am not going to let them go without us." She took a drink and then surprised him. She held his hand down on her knee and bent around and kissed him. She was not going to give up. She kept at it. She moved her other hand to the back of his neck. Then finally, she got him to open up.

**Maison23**

Sarah was so happy with him. Chuck was sleeping when they pulled up to the hotel. She left him in the car and checked in. When they got down to the basement garage, she had a little trouble waking him up. She finally used a tricked he had talked about using on Ellie. She held his nostrils together until he woke up gasping.

"Okay, wow. What was that?" Chuck was definitely awake now.

"Sorry, I was just playing." Sarah thought she did not hurt him and then saw the blood trickling down his lip on to his shirt.

Chuck reached over and grabbed some tissues from her purse. "Come on we better get out or I'll have it all over the car. I'm sorry." He stepped out of the car.

"Chuck, it was my fault. I was just trying to play. I did not mean to hurt you." She got the bags from the back of the car.

They walked to the elevator and rode up to their floor. Chuck scrambled to get to the door. He could feel the blood starting to drip through the tissue. Sarah opened the door and Chuck ran to the bathroom.

Chuck had the water running and was trying to stop the blood. With his nose plugged, he turned around to see Sarah looking in at him. "I hate to ask but could you get some ice, sometime that helps. I'm sorry."

Sarah got the bucket and went to get some. By the time she came back. He had his nose blocked and was rinsing out his shirt and undershirt. He already had the blood out using the cold water. He was putting them on the line when Sarah brought the bucket.

He got some of the ice and put it in a wet cloth. She took it from him. "I am sorry Chuck. I should have known that the migraines would mean this would or could happen."

"It is not your fault. I have a really sensitive sinuous. I bump my nose after being at Castle for a long time and this happens. It is a little too dry there or something. It will be okay." He looked in the mirror again. "I don't have any more blood on me, do I?"

She looked at him all over. "No." She kept looking at him.

"Come here." He wrapped his arms around her. "You know I love you. It is okay."

"Well, then I'll go get ready for bed." Sarah looked up at him.

"I'll be out in a minute. Just making sure it has stopped." Chuck turned to check.

In a couple minutes Chuck finally came out. "Sorry, started up again. But it is fixed now."

Sarah went in the bathroom.

Chuck was looking through the bag for another tee shirt but only found more shirts. _'Okay, this is going to get better. We'll just stop by the apartment tomorrow.'_

Sarah came out and saw him in his boxers. "You okay?"

"Uh, oh my tee shirts must be in the other bag. This one has shirts, blue jeans and socks. We'll stop by the apartment tomorrow and I'll get the other bag." He just shrugged. He stood looking at her. _'How does she look so beautiful after a night like this?' _She had one of his tee shirts and shorts on. "Come on let's go to bed."

Sarah got in bed on the right side. Chuck got in on the left. He lay down on his back and was trying to think what he really wanted. She started to move over to him. When she got where she wanted she cuddled into his side and reached up and gave him a kiss. She was starting to move her leg.

He looked down at her, "Special, remember?"

"Yeah" and she kissed him again.

**Rancho Ramirez**

Casey moved slowly. He heard Mary in the bathroom. He got up and went down the hall to the other bathroom.

Mary finished up and came back in the bedroom. She went to the closet and got out her clothes.

Casey came back in the room and saw Mary standing there. She had not put her blouse or pants on. "Okay, you do look stunningly beautiful in the morning." She had long black hair that curl slightly when it was not tied in a bun. Her figure was strikingly similar to Sarah's.

Mary looked over at Casey. He only had his shorts on. "You're looking pretty good yourself G-Bear."

"Yeah well, you done in the shower?" He got his pants and shirt.

"Yes, thank you. Do you want breakfast?" She had her blouse on and was getting the pants.

"Yeah sure. Coffee too, please." He started in the bathroom.

"Meet you in the kitchen." Mary finished dressing and went to the kitchen.

Casey finished in the shower, shaved, and brushed his teeth. He went out to the bedroom and found a set of clothes on the bed. He looked at them for a while and decided that it did not matter. Dressed he went to the kitchen.

She was finishing the bacon and the buzzer went off. Getting the biscuits from the oven, she got their plates ready and headed to the kitchen table. "I'm sorry, we never talked about juice. You want orange, tomato, or grape?"

"Orange is good." Casey took a sip of the coffee. It was hot and had a strong taste. He was actually starting to smile.

"Have a seat. Don't let it get cold." Mary was getting the butter and the milk. "Want some?"

Casey buttered his biscuit and got a half a glass of milk. "Thank you, this is very good."

"When is the last time someone actually made a meal like this for you, rather than going to get one at a restaurant?" Mary looked at him eating.

"Well, Miss has to know everything, it was two weeks ago." He watched the surprised look in her face. Then he smiled, "I had to get Chuck and Ellie was just starting breakfast. They made me stay for a bite."

"Okay, that sounds about right." Mary shook her head. She finished her plate and was already taking it to the sink when Casey got another cup of coffee. "I told Ray that we would take the horses out and then load them up. We need to figure another two hours. Pulling the trailers with horses in them slows us down quite a bit."

Casey grunted and got another sip.

"Don't you grunt at me, G-Bear? God gave you a mouth for more than just eating." She smiled at him.

His head had snapped up. He hadn't heard that since he was at his grandmother's a long time ago. He saw her smiling and nodded.

They took a tall cup with them to the corrals. The horses they were taking were already feed and walking around the corral. The saddles and gear for the horses were at another rail, ready to be loaded. Ray had the trailers pulled up beside the gate. This was going to be an easy load. Ray and his wranglers began loading the horses.

Casey walked over to Mary. "Do we need anything else?" Casey watched as they loaded Blue.

"I don't think so. I did get some extras for Chuck and Sarah. We are about the same size?" Mary asked.

"Guess so." Casey looked at Mary again. "Yeah, that should work."

"Oh, one other thing. Actually several." She walked over to the equipment. "We'll be packing the weapons with us too. I know you have your own, but I thought we would play the part. I have four Winchesters Model 1876 chambered for the .45 cartridge. They are originals and a special buy for the ranch."

Casey picked up one like it was a new born. He turned it over and checked the action. "Okay, how did you get these?"

"Well like I said our family goes back quite far and we have been able to keep some things for many years. Like these." She opened the case with the clean handle Colt Single Action Army .45 revolvers. And then produced the hand tooled holsters.

"Okay, heaven. A good woman, a good gun, and a horse. What else could a man want?" Casey smiled at her.

"I thought you might enjoy these. We have enough time to go over to the indoor range and squeeze off a few if you want." Mary handed him the Colt.

"Oh paradise, yes, I'd like to squeeze a few of yours." Casey had put the rifle down and was now admiring the revolver.

She put the rifle back in the case and he followed her over to the car. The indoor range was ten minutes away on the south side of the ranch. They got the cases and walked in the range. There were six firing position and the equipment was almost new.

Mary opened the case with the Colts. "Here try this one. My uncle likes it. He has a bigger hand like you do. It might feel better."

They put on their ear protection and safety glasses and Casey fired a couple of slow ones. Bringing the target back he saw that he was a hair down and to the four o'clock position. Putting the target back in position, he fired off the remaining four.

Mary took her revolver and fanned off all six. When they compared their targets, Mary's grouping provided a nice center hole matching Casey's last four.

"I guess we have been keeping you from your practice. If you ever want to bring these down to LA, we can certainly have you put on an exposition for the troops." Casey was definitely impressed by Mary's handling of the Colt.

Mary got out the Winchesters next. She handed one to Casey. "Again, that one is probably a closer balance for you. It was made especially for our Great, Great Grandfather. He was about as tall as you."

They put the gear back on and Casey checked the sighting and shot of ten. Mary did the same with her rifle. "Oh very nice."

They cleaned the weapons and put them back in their cases. Getting back in the car, Casey said, "You sure know how to show a feller a good time." He was smiling from ear to ear. She laughed.

When they got back to the coral, everything was loaded. Mary and Casey got in a separate truck and were followed by the other two trucks with their trailers.

**Maison23**

Chuck and Sarah had moved together. His arm was on top of her waist and her legs were entangled in his. She woke up first. Looking at the clock she saw that there were only a couple minutes before the alarm was going to go off. She reached over and turned it off. There was no way she was going back to sleep. Turning over to face Chuck she woke him up.

"Oh morning."

"Morning Chuck, you okay?"

"Hum, fine." He reached over and kissed her. It was a long passionate kiss and they came closer together. "Okay, well we better stop, or we aren't leaving." He backed away from Sarah. "I promise when we get back, I don't care how many missions they have for us we'll, well you know."

"Yes, and Chuck, I agree with you." Sarah moved off her side of the bed.

"You want to go first?" Sarah looked at Chuck.

"If you don't mind, I'll be a second and then you can shower." Chuck left to the bathroom. When he came out they traded places.

Chuck picked up his cell phone and called Castle. "Chuck, I am secure. Hi Liz, is the program done yet? Oh, okay. Can you tell me the results? Okay. Well I have to stop by the apartment to pick up some tee shirts, see you in a few minutes."

Sarah was a little longer than the phone call. She came out in her robe. Chuck went into the bathroom. Her phone rang. "Walker secure. Hi Mary. Where are you? When did you start out? Okay. Yeah, that is fine. No, I hadn't thought of that. Oh, thanks. Yeah. We can probably change up there, but I'll ask Chuck if he has any. Oh yeah, thanks. We will see you up there."

Sarah put on a pair of panty hose. It was the last pair she had. She got dress in a plaid blouse and blue jeans. She had a pair of riding boots and matching belt.

Chuck came out in his shorts and tee shirt from last night. "Wow, you look nice all duded up. Ready for the range?"

"Well actually, Mary called. She had some riding tips. She had some extras but if you have long longs, she said to wear a pair." She saw his face. Mary had wondered whether he would know. "Mary said to wear them so your blue jeans don't rub off your skin while riding."

"Oh that would help. Good ideas are always welcome."

"If you don't have any, she brought a couple extra pairs with them." Sarah finished packing their clothes.

"I did call to check on the program. I got Liz. She said that seventy of the Fulcrum agents we captured were from Max's organization. So, if we are exactly right and an elder always and only has seventy-five agents, we would only be dealing with five. But you and I know that we won't know for sure until we get there. I don't know about the roundup. There maybe a couple agents still working with Max." Chuck finished putting his clothes on and got his bag.

**Casa Bartowski**

Chuck and Sarah went up to the conference room. Chuck brought up his computer and started looking at the results. "Yeah, there could be five or more that we did not capture."

Sarah looked at him worrying at the computer. "It is okay Chuck. We can handle it. Let's get your tee shirts. We need to get going."

Chuck looked at the results again. The others captured were confirmed agents of the other elders. "Liz, you have been looking at this longer than me. Anything else that we should know about?"

"There is one other abnormality that is apparent. The four of the other agents would have been the top ones assigned to someone back East. Their profiles and results from their patterns are not from out here. Maybe there was another elder out here. But be careful." Liz pointed at both of them.

"We will." Sarah nodded.

Chuck went to get his other bag.

A protection detail was waiting for them. They made it to the airport and had an easy ride to Sacramento. Again a detail met them at the airport and passed them the keys to Dodge pickup registered in Chuck's name.

He looked at the registration. "Wait in a minute; isn't it supposed to be Charles?"

Sarah took a deep breath, "No, remember we switched. You're the brother Daryl."

"Well, at least I am not the other brother Daryl." He smiled, putting the bags in the truck.

"You ready Daryl?" Sarah smiled back at him, as she climbed up into the seat.

"Okay, nick name time." Chuck started thinking. He got in and started driving.

"Well, what do you want? Buck, Roy, Kid, Shorty, Curly"

Chuck interrupted, "Come on something that a sophisticated city girl like you would go for."

"Well, your middle name here is Anthony. Tony wouldn't be too bad." Sarah looked at Chuck.

"Okay, let's go with Tony." Chuck made it to the airport exit. "Okay, which way?"

**Max's Ranch**

Chuck and Sarah drove up to the ranch as Mary and Casey were getting the horses unloaded.

_A/N Hope you liked the Mary and Casey interchanges. Please review. _


	5. Chapter 5 the Ride

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 5—the Ride

**Max's Ranch**

Mary and Casey were helping the wranglers get the horses out of the trailers. They had Shadow out and Casey was walking him around the corral. Chuck got closer and was surprised to see and hear Casey almost human trying to get the horse to calm down. Casey was stoking Shadow's neck and calling his name.

Mary came up to Chuck and Sarah walking a horse. "Hi, this is Nacoma. She is a solid Quarter horse. She is a good cutting horse. I thought Chuck might want her. She'll be easier for him to ride and actually work the cattle." She gave Chuck the reins. "We try to calm our horses when we get them out of the trailer. Chuck, you have any problem walking him like Casey?"

"Oh, that will be fine. Sure. Ah, then what?" Chuck asked.

"Well until we hear from the trail boss, I guess hitch her to the rail." Mary got Sarah's arm.

They walked off together toward the other horse trailer.

Sarah could tell Mary was a bit tense, "Mary everything okay?"

"Well, I hope so. Look Sarah, I know we are still a new team and I have never worked with you three in the field." Mary was studying Sarah.

"Mary, you wanted this. You'll do fine." Sarah was trying to be confident.

"Oh, I guess I have to ask. Casey said something last night and then," Mary was looking at the ground.

Sarah started to get hard, "He didn't do anything wrong, did he?"

"Oh no, he was a gentleman."

"Well, then what?"

"We were going over our cover. We got pretty deep into even some intimate details. That's why you got the call about the long johns." She was still looking down, pushing the dirt around with her toe.

"Okay, so?" Sarah was really wondering where there was going.

"Well, we finally decided we better kiss. He made it like a challenge. If I couldn't do this, then we would cancel out. I had to. I wasn't going to let you and Chuck come up here without enough support." She looked at Sarah like she needed to be forgiven.

"Mary what is the problem? You know with undercover work we sometimes have to kiss the most disgusting things. I must say, I have never thought about kissing a…Grunt. But he has always, like you said, been a gentleman." Sarah reached out to hold her hand.

"That's not the problem. Boy this might sound like a foolish little girl. After we got a little heated he said, 'Interested, but not now sister.' Then he turned and went to bed," she watched Sarah to see her reaction.

Sarah smiled. She was almost jumping up and down like Ellie. "Oh, you are in trouble alright. Casey called me sister once. He said in no uncertain terms, 'not interested,'" she got both of Mary's hands. "He likes you."

"What?" Mary's eyes popped open.

"Okay, you are lucky to get him do something more than grunt. If you had a continual growl this morning, then you would be in trouble. You didn't right?" Sarah was smiling.

"Well he grunted once, and I told him to use his mouth to do something more than eat," she watched as Sarah started laugh. "What?"

"He must like you. You're not in the hospital or dead," she was still laughing.

"Well, he smiled and nodded," she watched Sarah continue to laugh.

"It's okay. He likes you. But you should know he has this work ethic, probably from the military. Something like no fraternization with a subordinate. Since you don't really work for him, he's likely worried about getting involved with a partner during the mission. You'll be okay. Just don't press it and see what happens after we get done." Sarah hugged her. "The best to you both."

Mary took her over to the truck. She got the cases, "Oh, you'll need to see these. I don't think Chuck will care that much." Mary opened the cases of the Winchesters and the Colts.

Sarah gasped, "Oh, these are precious. Did you show these to Casey?"

"Yes, we took them to the range and fired both. We have a couple that fit him perfectly," Mary smiled.

"Well my dear, you know that you have created something that no one else has, a perfectly normal human out of a grisly bear," Sarah nodded at Mary.

"Oh, I forgot. I call him G-Bear and he calls me Kam. The bear nickname, you already guessed. Kam is for the initials of the cover."

"Right, thanks. But let me finish. I think he probably will try to block it but he probably will fall for you more and more. Of course, I am not really qualified to talk about this. It took me two years to finally tell Chuck that I loved him. But one thing as a partner, you'll need to watch out for him, and so will we. He won't be acting like a normal G-Bear," She smiled. "And we decided to call Chuck a nickname from the cover's middle name, Tony."

There were another twenty rigs along the road to the corrals. Max and his trail boss were coming down the line to meet everyone. They had just reached Sarah and Mary.

"Good morning ladies, I am Maximillion de Brouget. Please call me Max. And you are?"

"Oh, I am sorry. I am Sarah Jordin, Tony's, oh Daryl Michelson's date. Is it alright if I come along?"

"Why sure Miss. You can tag along with us any day. And you beautiful?"

Mary almost bristled, "I am Katherine Ann Michelson. My husband is in the corral walking our horses."

"Well ma'am, I would be happy to show you the way. We could meet up with him at the BBQ. And this is our trail boss, Curly Johnson."

Sarah started a coughing fit and turned away. Mary offered her hand, "Well glad to meet you. I'll wait for my husband. We will see you at the BBQ."

One of the wranglers came up with Flicker. Mary turned to Sarah, "Okay we got you a choice. Flicker here is a nice horse. She is very steady, but she won't really help you do much. She is a good horse for someone who has never ridden before."

Sarah looked the horse over. She thought it seemed sluggish and tired.

Then another wrangler brought Blue. Mary started, "Now here is Blue. He on the other hand is a little bit more. He is definitely faster and a little harder for a new person."

Sarah looked at him and saw a bit of a sparkle in his eye. She liked him. "Mary, I like him. Can I walk him around then try him for a short ride and decide for sure?"

"Sounds fine to me. As long as the trail boss does not stop us, it should work." Mary got Dusty's reins and they walked the two horses over to the corral.

Chuck and Casey caught up with each other. Chuck said, "Looks nice."

Casey nodded and said, "Yeah she's nice, you've seen her."

Chuck asked, "Should be able to get a nice ride."

Casey looked at Chuck, "She'll be a great ride."

Chuck nodded, "You like?" He got a little shove from his horse and did not complete the question.

Casey said with a whimsical tone, "She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. In the morning sunlight, she…"

Chuck did not hear the rest. They had to separate to get around a few people. Chuck lost him in the shuffle. He made a few more circuits around the corral. _'He must really like that horse. I mean she looks nice.' _Then Chuck got a good look at the horse, _'Casey that's a stallion, I guess you aren't as observant as I thought.'_

The next time Chuck caught up with Casey he thought he better get some of the mission stuff straight he hadn't heard yet. Chuck started, "So, on the way up, we decided to use my middle name Tony. What is Katherine calling you?"

Casey nodded, "She is still calling me G-Bear." Then as a whisper, "Don't go there." He looked at Chuck.

Chuck made a motion like he was backing off. "So what about her?"

"I am still using her initials, KAM," Casey nodded.

The girls cut into Casey and Chuck.

"Well, hi guys," said Sarah.

"Howdy partner," Chuck replied laughing.

Both Casey and Mary shook their heads.

"How does everyone's horse feel?" Mary asked.

"What?" came with the look of confusion on Sarah's face.

"You should be able to tell whether your horse is tense, fidgeting, or relaxed. Our idea is that we calm our horses down after trailer rides. We have had fewer accidents. In general this period also helps cool the horse down for those days when the trailer gets a little too hot.

"So, how are the horses?" Mary asked again.

"We're good," said Casey.

"Fine here, "Chuck replied.

Sarah said, "He seems okay and is dry."

"Okay, let's hitch them over at the rail, then you can go meet Max and look around," said Mary.

"Should I still try a little ride?" Sarah asked Mary.

"Oh yes, this will be just a minute," Mary said to Casey.

Mary had the wranglers show Sarah how to put the saddle on. Chuck and Casey watched. Sarah took Blue out in the field next to the corrals. She did not try anything other than making sure she knew how to get him back to Mary.

"I like him. I'll stay with Blue," she told Mary. She gave the reins to the wrangler.

Mary asked the wranglers if they needed anything. They put Flicker back in the trailer. The equipment and saddles for the roundup where loaded in the pickup that Mary and Casey drove. The wranglers added the saddle and other tack for Chuck's and Sarah's horses. The wranglers were going to stay in town until everyone got back. Mary told them that if they had any problems to call her. They headed down the road.

Mary and Casey went first down the path to the tables. They bumped into each other a couple times then Casey took Mary's hand. Chuck and Sarah followed. Chuck pointed at them and Sarah just shrugged her shoulders.

Curly Johnson was meeting people at the tables. Mary introduced Casey, "Hi again, this is my husband Charles Michelson."

"Good afternoon," Casey shook Curly's hand. The handshake was not quite a contest, but they did check each other's strength.

Curly moved on to Sarah and Chuck. Curly look down at Sarah. Chuck flashed. He saw Curly looking at Sarah through the images of the flash. It was the first time he had tried to force the flash to the back while staring at something else. Chuck realized Curly was not looking at her face and stepped in front. "Hi, I am Tony Michelson." When Chuck saw him look at his list, he added, "Daryl is the first name. I go by my middle name. This is my girlfriend Sarah." Chuck grabbed Sarah's hand and kept walking.

"Chuck what's wrong?" Sarah asked.

"What do you mean what's wrong. The way he was looking at you. Okay, I know this is a mission. But you are my girlfriend and I get to act like it. And no I don't ever think I could act another way," Chuck just stared at her.

"Yes, I know," she smiled at him.

"Come here," he said as he started to move off.

Mary and Casey had moved over to table near the front. Casey pulled the chair for Mary. Just as she was about to sit down, Max came over.

"So nice to see you again," Max was looking Mary over.

This time it was Casey's turn to move in front. "Hi," he put out his hand, "I'm Charles Michelson."

Max shook his hand. "Well, I am glad you could make it. It was kind of a long shot to invite you. I hope you'll be able to go on the roundup, there's some business I want to talk with you," he looked over at Mary. "Hope to see more of you. Got to go for now."

Mary heard Casey growling as he took the seat beside her. She reached with both hands to hold his. "It's okay," with a slight pause, "G-Bear." Mary looked around.

Casey nodded and looked for Sarah and Chuck. They were off at the edge of the tables kissing. Casey grunted, "They're going to have to stop that sometime."

Chuck had almost danced Sarah through the tables to the edge. He thought he would be away from anyone. He kissed her and then looked her in the eye and kissed her again. Then he put his mouth to her ear and kiss once, "Listen, Curly is a free lance assassin. He has ties with Fulcrum, but I could not tell that he is Fulcrum. I got the impression they just pay him." He kissed her ear a couple more times. He noticed that he was getting a reaction from her that he hadn't found before.

They kissed again and she moved to kiss his ear. "Okay, I'll tell Mary and she can pass it along to Casey. Do that again and we better be real close to the apartment."

They broke apart and he looked at her. She raised her eye brows. And he said, "Got it."

They worked their way over to Mary and Casey and sat across from them. The table held ten. Another six people joined the table. There were two other couples and then another two ranchers.

Mary found that the roundup would only have three other couples. One couple was taking the position as the cooks. They were Bob and Lynn Watts from Montana. They had a big ranch up there and helped Max with his breeding program. Casey did not like the implication of a breeding program with Max. His thoughts were heading down another path, when Mary got his attention.

"G-Bear, these people are Ted and Julie Halverson. Ted is in the meat packing business and has Max as one of his suppliers. They are out mostly for vacation," Mary pressed Casey's leg with her hand.

After the introductions Mary stood and said, "Let's go get some drinks." Casey stood up immediately. Mary nodded at Sarah.

"Sure, we'll help. Toni come on along," Sarah nudged Chuck.

"Oh yeah, what does everyone want," Chuck got up and they got the orders from the table.

Standing in line was perfect. They were able to stand close to each other and talk. Sarah told Mary about Curly.

Mary got Casey's attention he bent down to listen. She held his hand. She quickly told him what Sarah had said. Then she started the next part, "I want them." She began squeezing his hand even harder. Her voice became harsh, "We have been after them for years. The Halverson's deal in human trafficking."

Casey looked at her and saw the steel in her eyes. He bent next to her ear and said, "Got it." Casey then held her to get the fury out.

Chuck was watching trying to figure out what had happened. The John Casey he knew did not hold people. This was a tender side he never seen. He got close to Sarah, "Anything else happening?"

"Something else is wrong. Mary didn't get to say. Did you see anything thing else?" Sarah asked with an emphasis on "see."

Chuck shook his head. They stood in line a little longer then got all the drinks and headed back to the table.

Dinner was served by Max's ranch hands. There was BBQ beef ribs. They were big and covered in sauce. Then chicken, pork ribs, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and baked potatoes. Everyone one dug in.

About half way into the meal Mary looked up and said, "Oh, you got some BBQ on you." Everyone looked down.

Mary reached for her water glass and napkin. She turn around and rubbed the spot out of Casey's shirt. Chuck's face turned red. He had his napkin up to his eyes. Casey's turned from a question and smile, into a raging torrent. Sarah looked away, knowing better than get into this crossfire.

There was dessert and coffee. Sarah found that one of the ranchers was in the military before and his ranch was in northern California. The other rancher was looking for some good stock and thought that Max would likely have a few to pick from.

Max got up after the meal, "Welcome all ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed the meal." There was some applause. "We skipped a part of the roundup. The cattle have been herded into the corral at the north side of the ranch. We'll have a short ride up there then I would imagine around a good hour on the trail. I do appreciate your help and I hope you enjoy this ride. Remember the cost that we defray will be given to the local humane society. Here's my trail boss, Curly Johnson. He'll lead you through what we need to do."

Curly and the trail hands helped everyone get their saddles on and their equipment tied down. Mary and Casey helped Chuck and Sarah get their saddle done right and their bedrolls and saddle bags secured. There were still too many people around to talk.

It was a nice even pace down to the north corral. The four of them stayed together. Mary tried to give riding tips to Sarah. Chuck stayed as close as he could. He was picking some good ideas as they went. Casey stayed even with them and in Chuck's opinion would guard Mary and her horse from anyone approaching to fast.

There was a break at the corral when Curly announced these were the last facilities before the trail. Mary and Sarah finally were able to talk.

Sarah said, "I saw you squeezing G-Bear's hand. Something wrong?"

Mary got close, "We have been after the Halversons for dealing in human trafficking. It is so horrific. We knew the names behind it but never the faces. Please."

Someone started going their way.

Sarah said, "After."

Mary nodded and walked over to Casey.

"Saddle up. We're heading out," called out Curly from the front of the corrals.

They all began moving. Chuck and Sarah stayed with Mary. They were the outriders on the right. Casey was in drag trying to get the lagers to stay with the herd. Mary thought Chuck and Sarah were doing pretty good. They managed to head off a wayward steer every once in a while. She hated that Casey was in the back. But it was better today. Most of the land they were crossing was young grass and there wasn't too much dust.

They only moved the cattle about three miles and found when they bedded them down that the reason behind the short start was a passage problem. Even Max had to contend with the county sheriff and his neighbors. They had crossed two county roads, two other ranches and a plot of land that had been turned into farming. The point of the drive was to get closer to water. There was a smaller ranch Max owned next to one of the reservoirs.

Apparently Max did not trust his guests that much, his hands took the job of riding the herd at night, and started calling themselves night hawks. The cooks did make a night fire. Weather and fire conditions did not force a cold camp.

Sarah was able to get Chuck to the side and asked him to thoroughly check the Halversons. She did not explain why.

Casey and Mary sat by the fire and got a cup of coffee. They were talking with the other couple on the trail, Brent and Louise Owen. Brent owned a horse ranch and was selling horses to Max. He provided the extra quarter horses for the roundup. Forty horses were required by the ten ranch hands so they would always have a fresh horse. Brent explained that Max did not think it right to make his guests bring extra horses or work as hard as the hands. So the invitations suggested a horse per rider.

Brent asked, "I noticed you brought an extra?"

Casey saw Mary start to answer but answered first, "Oh, my brother called and said he was bringing his new girl friend. She hadn't been out to our ranch yet, so we didn't know what kind of a rider she would be. We brought two horses to get a good match."

Louise said, "She seems to be doing pretty well on that appaloosa."

Max came over then. Casey stood up. He excused themselves and said they were turning in. Mary smiled, got up and went with him.

Casey was happy with the arrangements. Sarah had the outside position. It would be hard to get past her even in the night. Then Chuck was going to be beside her. Mary would be next and then Casey. There would be a gap and then the Owens would be next.

Sarah saw Casey going to the bed rolls. They were talking to one of the other ranchers. She said, "I guess we ought to turn-in. Your brother is getting the bed rolls."

Chuck nodded, "Excuse us."

As they were headed over they passed the Halversons. Ted had his shirt off and high on his shoulder was a tattoo with a skull and barbed wire around it. Chuck flashed. He tried to keep walking but the images were really disturbing. He whispered to Sarah, "Get me out of here."

Sarah helped him get down to their sleeping area. No one was next to Casey right now. She motioned to him to stay alert. Chuck sat down next to Mary. Sarah sat down and asked, "Are you okay?"

He was shaking, "Go shoot them. We'll take care of Max later." He put his hands over his eyes.

"Chuck, I'm sorry," Sarah just wrapped herself around Chuck. She looked at Mary, "I wanted to make sure. I didn't tell him about the Halversons. He found out on his own."

Mary moved next to Sarah and said in her ear, "I helped rescue two groups. It was terrible. Sarah, it was beyond terrible." Mary rubbed her hand through his hair, "You make sure he knows you are with him all night." She motioned Casey over and told him to get their rolls and help.

When all got settled down, Sarah was pressed against Chuck.

Mary remembered the events of those rescues all too well. She told Casey that Chuck flashed on the Halversons and some of what she thought Chuck would have seen. She had problems with that and could not bring herself to tell it all. By the time she was done, the seemingly tender moment of whispering in his ear was drowned out by his growling. Mary gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Casey didn't let Mary move away. He knew those descriptions were not complete and would not leave her soon. He kissed her and whispered, "I agree with Chuck."

_A/N Hope you liked the building relationship between Mary and Casey. Still trying to rustle up some reviews here. Please review. _


	6. Chapter 6 Caught

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 6—Caught

**The Trail**

Sarah held on to Chuck all night. She was worried, _'I have never seen you like that. You said with a deadly serious voice to go shoot them. I am so sorry. I know things can change you. I just don't want it to happen to you.' _

Chuck did not have a good night. The combination of Halverson flash, and the bad parts of the seventy flashes from the night before along with the BBQ, got him. He startled awake three times. Each time he said he was sorry and then wrestled awhile trying to get back to sleep. The fourth time he turned grabbed Sarah and wouldn't let go.

Casey noticed Chuck and his problems. He also realized Mary was having similar problems. He held her and hoped that she hadn't had to go undercover to "rescue" those two groups. He knew he may never know for sure. He agreed with Sarah's therapy and held Mary through the night.

Sarah was almost on top of Chuck when she woke. Chuck was struggling again and his eyes popped open. He saw Sarah and began to hold and kiss her all over.

She whispered in his ear, "You alright?"

"Trying to be. You okay?" was all Chuck could get out.

"What happened?" Sarah asked.

"They're just evil. They can't have a soul. They are the pinnacle for human trafficking. The images showed they made people slaves and worse. Both of them and their gangs beat, burned, tortured, and sexually attacked their victims. They'd do anything just to make those people work for them. I think I saw all of it at once. And then," he stopped talking. He just hugged her.

"We can take them in," Sarah suggested.

"I don't know. Last time one of their snakehead lieutenants was in jail, that operation continued like nothing happened. Anything less than complete isolation won't work." He looked in her eyes. Then he went back to his mouth by her ear, "Maybe if we can tie them to the Elder, we can work that problem, right?" He felt her shake her head. He continued to kiss her.

When she got next to his ear, Sarah whispered, "We can do that, but we have to find Max's computer and a way to tie them together." She went back to kissing him.

Casey looked around and saw Chuck and Sarah kissing and then kissing each other's ears. He knew what they were doing and thought it was good cover technique. No one would really suspect. They were doing a good job.

Mary started to wake and pulled Casey's arms around her. She felt a slight shiver from the morning air and the memories from the night. Casey reached over and kissed her neck. She turned and kissed back.

Casey gave a small grunt, _'Okay, definitely nice. But I was trying something else. Someone give me credit for trying.'_ He continued to kiss her. At a pause for air, he began kissing her neck again.

Mary bent to get by his ear, "You're going to have to stop that or we need to find the closest hotel room. Okay, stop or we are heading to the bushes."

Casey finally made it up to her ear. "Okay, listen. We keep kissing for a while and kiss by each other's ear. We can whisper in each other's ear." He kissed her a couple more times going down to her neck and back up. "Chuck and Sarah are doing it. If Chuck hadn't been too little too far away from Sarah's ear, I wouldn't have noticed that he was talking. But I don't think anyone would notice as long as we keep this short." He kissed her a few more times then moved to kiss her fully on the mouth.

Mary wasn't quite ready for that move and met him with an open mouth. She pulled him closer. She continued the kiss and moved so she could get to his ear.

Casey thought he was helping and broke off the kiss. He scooted down to kiss below her neck. He knew he was getting close to where as a partner he did not intent to go. But he hit the trigger.

Mary almost involuntarily grabbed his head and pushed it down a little further. Another sensation got her and her legs wrapped around Casey. If Casey hadn't come up for air, she would not have been able to continue. She reached down and kissed by his ear. "Okay, they got more control than I do." She kissed him again. "Oh and thanks for holding me last night. Somehow that helped, they were as bad as before." She kissed him. "If we are going to have any chance at this, you have to stay above the neck."

Casey switched positions looked at her with a smile. He then kissed her and moved to her ear. "Okay partner, maybe we need a little more practice. I don't have anything. We do have to find that computer and get Chuck a chance at it." He moved so she could talk.

Mary moved up and said, "Okay. Let's use a signal if we find the computer, put something in your left shirt pocket that will stick out." She felt his head nod. Their practiced continued.

Sarah saw some of the others getting up. "Hey, Toni. We better start getting up." Sarah reached over and got her jeans. With them on she got up with a tee shirt on and put on a blue plaid shirt.

Chuck got on his jeans and shirt and started looking around. He saw Casey and Mary still in an embrace. He was going to nudge Sarah but she had walked off a little.

The fire had already been stoked and a coffee pot filled the air with a fresh brew. Some of the riders were going out to relive the nighthawks.

Chuck did spot the facilities on the other side of the horses. "Looks like they brought back the portables after we went to sleep." Chuck pointed them out to Sarah.

They got their kits and walked over to them. As they were passing Casey, Mary looked up. Chuck gave her thumbs up and Sarah almost knocked him over.

Before they hit the trail, Max called everyone together. "I need to remind everyone that cell phones are not permitted. The noise from a phone in these canyons could spook the herd. Curly and the riders will be around to pick yours up."

Mary had warned Sarah about that and the four of them had left theirs at the truck. Curly still hassled Sarah a little and Chuck stepped up.

"Say, we told you, we left them behind. I've been on the ranch enough to know." Chuck wasn't sure what would have happened next. Fortunately, Casey was standing behind him.

Then Curly said something unexpected, "There's snakes around here. You ought to think about packing." He walked off.

Sarah gave Chuck a hug. Casey just shook his head.

When they started saddling up, Mary had just come back from getting some coffee. "The Nighthawks said there were some rattlers coming out this morning. We better get our side arms. It would take too long to get to your rifles."

Chuck looked at Sarah. He said yesterday, he didn't like the idea of the rifle. He got Sarah to come over, "I can't hit anything with this. I guess I could get lucky and scare a rattler, but."

Sarah started, "Chuck, you have to deal with this. Casey is going to take you to the range, but for now, scare them with it. We'll be around and can do the rest."

Chuck thought, _'Yeah, but what if you're not,'_ but decided not to say anything. He put the belt on and watching Sarah tie down the hammer, and he did the same.

They started on the trail. Casey and Sarah were on the left flank and Mary on the right. Chuck was one of the drag riders this morning. Switching off during the morning and taking breaks at the chuck wagon, Casey spotted the laptop. Max was putting it away when Casey was pulling up for a cup. Casey's signal was a couple cigars in his pocket.

Mary got the signal. The next time they stopped for a break, Casey told Mary, "In a trunk in the wagon."

It took a while before they could get around Sarah. Mary caught up with Sarah just before lunch. They were both walking their horses on the right flank. Casey was behind them for look out.

Mary asked, "How do you want to do this?"

"Let's go up to the chuck wagon. Whoever is there, one of us distracts them. The other goes in gets the laptop. Should be simple," Sarah said.

Mary nodded and dropped back to tell Casey while Sarah headed to the chuck wagon.

Sarah had approached the chuck wagon from behind. When she saw Curly she knew her card was up. She pulled up beside Curly. "Mind if I set awhile? The saddle is starting to get to me."

Curly said, "Sure." He slowed the wagon long enough for Sarah to hitch her horse and start climbing through the back of the wagon. "Can get irritating," Curly said when she got to the front.

"Oh yes, it can cause some problems," she agreed.

Curly started to put his hand down on her leg, "Need to avoid some of those problems."

Sarah moved her leg out of the way just in time, "Yes, of course." She saw Mary pulling up.

When Mary approached the chuck wagon she saw that Blue was in trail and Sarah was up front with Curly. Mary quickly looped Dusty's reins to Blue and got in the wagon when it went over a bump. She could hear Sarah and Curly laughing. Moving to the trunk she got the laptop with no problem. She was away and did a trick mount to get Dusty. Mary moved away from the wagon.

Mary got back to Casey and touched the brim of her hat. Casey nodded and started up toward the chuck wagon. Mary kept going back and met up with Chuck. She pointed to her saddle bag.

"Hey, Toni. Do you want something to eat?" Mary asked loud enough for those around her to hear. She held up the saddle bag.

"Sure Kam. Thanks for bringing it. I'll be up in a while to change out." Chuck got the saddle bag. Mary trotted off to the front. Chuck reached in the bag. While pretending to get his lunch out he opened the laptop and connected his phone. He was able to get through the password with the help of a flash. Taking a bite or two from the real meal that was included in the saddlebag, Chuck downloaded the files. Closing the laptop, he hit his phones transmit app. Waving to the drag on his left, he started forward.

Chuck got up to Sarah. "Hey, doing okay?" he asked. He thought she looked a little shaken. Her shirt was pulled out a little on the side and she was not smiling.

"Yeah, you get what you wanted?" Sarah asked.

He pointed to his stomach while getting the saddle bag, "Got what I needed. Here you can have Kam's saddle bag. I'll head on back." As he was heading back, he turned saying, "Tell her thanks and I love you."

Sarah waved at him and then moved to the chuck wagon. Curly had just staked the wagon for lunch. He was going off to the horses. Sarah moved quickly to dismount and get in the wagon. She had the laptop halfway from the trunk when she felt a prick. The laptop slipped from her hand.

_A/N Can't say sorry about the angst. Hey, it's a western. What would you expect?_

_Also, wanted something that could be used to toughen Chuck. The evil Halversons may have come to mind from reading the W.E.B. Griffin book, __The Traffickers._

_Chuck doesn't have an easy time coming, need to have him ready. Think Mary and Casey can help or need more practice? _

_Lookin' to rope in a few more comments. Please review. _


	7. Chapter 7 Boxed

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 7—Boxed

**The Trail**

Max picked up the laptop. He could not tell whether she was getting it out or putting it in. He decided rapidly on the course of action. Opening the false bottom, he pulled out the sack there. He took Sarah's shirt and hat off and dumped her in the false bottom compartment. He whistled to Curly and waved him over.

"Hey that blond was in here holding the laptop." Max said.

Curly looked at his boss and said, "She must have come up just then. She was here with me a few minutes ago. Right before that Halverson put in his account code for the transfer. Must have been trying to take it. You think she is working alone? Her boy friend is riding drag. I have not seen him all morning."

"Alright, I don't like this. We'll get rid of her tonight." Max pointed at the false bottom. He put the lid back on it. "Meanwhile we need to ditch her horse. Have Vic put on this shirt and her hat. He'll need to double back a little but then he can go up the trail on the side of the canyon.

"If anyone follows, he should kill them. When he gets to the top, have him ride a piece and then let the horse go. Then he can leave the shirt and hat beside the road somewhere. Tell him to head into the ranch and catch the next truck out here."

Mary saw what looked like Sarah heading toward the back and Chuck. She started working her way to the left flank and Casey. When she caught up with him, she said, "Saw Sarah riding off to Toni."

Casey nodded his head. Mary fell in line with him and pushed a calf back into the herd.

Chuck saw Sarah heading up a trail along the rim of canyon. She was not going real fast but it seemed fast for her. Chuck waved to the drag beside him and started for the trail. He tried called her name a couple times but was not sure he could hear himself over the echo of the steers going through the canyon.

He got up over the height on the canyon floor tree tops and barely saw Sarah's horse take a bend in the trail. Pushing Nacoma he thought he was going to catch up. He went around the bend and saw her up the trail another two hundred yards. Knowing he could not race headed he started pushing for a faster pace. Through another bend, Chuck finally caught up with Sarah. He was reaching up to her arm, when the bearded face turned and the pistol whipped his head down to face. He lost the hold on his horse and when over the canyon wall. Skidding on the side he could not get a hold. He went thirty feet and dropped another two hundred onto a cliff.

Vic dismounted. He got Nacoma's reins and tied them to Blue's saddle. He drew his gun and went to the edge of the trail. Vic saw the other rider below. His arm looked bent at a funny angle and there was blood by his head. Vic was about to take a couple shots, but saw a drag rider below them pushing a delinquent steer and holstered his gun. He couldn't be sure who the rider was and didn't want to cause any problems for the boss. He waited a while and then decided if the guy wasn't dead, then he soon would be with the rattlers coming up next to him. Vic kept going to the top of the canyon wall.

Casey and Mary were working the left flank of the herd. The rode to their next break at the chuck wagon. The echoes off the walls were getting worse.

Casey bent down to Mary and said, "How you doing?"

"Fine, I think the horses need a rest more than I do," she yelled back at Casey.

They got lemonade and a biscuit and sat on the back of the chuck wagon. One of the riders and Bob Watts were up front. As they looked over the herd they could see the outriders on the left flank where they came from but none on the right were visible.

Casey bent down to her ear. "If Toni and Sarah don't come in while we are here, I'll swing over and see what they are doing."

"I hope Sarah isn't having any problems. She was doing pretty well," Mary told him.

"When was the last you saw her?" Casey asked.

Mary looked at her watch, "It's been almost two hours. She was headed back to Chuck."

"Okay, I'll head over there and check." Casey swung back up on Shadow.

Casey worked his way over to the right flank. They were having a bit of a problem. It was the deeper part of the canyon and there was a small pool just under an overhang. The drive had a planned stop at a small pond another four miles down the canyon. But a couple of old bulls had taken position at this one and were not moving. The outriders were not making any progress. Max, Curly and two of the other ranchers were on the side trying to give good ideas on how to move them. Other riders joined in to keep the other parts of the herd from stopping and joining the bulls. Casey was enlisted to help.

Mary waited for Casey at the chuck wagon. One of the riders came in and reported the problem at the water hole. He and the driver left the wagon to assist. Mary waited a little longer. The chuck wagon had moved almost to the next pool. Mary figured that most all of the riders had gone back to help.

Mary got on Dusty and headed off to see what was happening. She found Casey and the others at the water hole. They had gotten one of the bulls out. Most of them were covered with mud. Casey had a spray of it all over.

Mary got close to him, "You hear anything about Sarah?"

"I asked when I first pulled up. A couple of them thought she was headed back to the drag line. But we've been fighting these two ever since I got here." Casey tried to dust off some of the mud that had caked on.

"Okay, I'll go check." She rode off. But she did not get far as the drag riders were almost up with her.

"Say, I am trying to get two people, Sarah and Toni. She's the blond in a plaid shirt. And he's the tall guy with dark curly hair that was riding drag this morning." Mary told the first group. She got a variety of reports from thought they went up to the water hole, to the chuck wagon, or they were working the left flank. Mary tried another group closer to the left flank and got the same answers. She was getting pretty excited at that point and went back to Casey.

By the time Mary got back to camp it was already dusk. Mary rode into camp and found Casey there. He had washed and had clean clothes on. She rode up on Dusty and jumped off into Casey's arms. She said, "I can't find them. Did they show up here?"

Casey shook his head, "No."

They headed over to Max. Casey started the questions, "Has anyone seen my brother or his girl friend?"

Max came over. "One of the riders said they saw her, the blond, headed up the trail of the canyon wall back a few miles. That brother of yours was apparently following her. Tall guy like you right?"

Casey nodded, "Yeah, that's them."

"Well, couldn't tell you what they were doing. The canyon is not too far from the local towns. If they ran into trouble, we'll have to wait. There is no way to check for them tonight. That trail isn't that easy." Max rubbed his chin. "We'll have the truck go back out tonight and check with the nearby towns. Then will do a search in the morning. But that's about it for now."

Casey knew there was no other way. Trying to get out of there now was pointless. It was too long of a run with horses that were already tired.

Mary and Casey milled around with the riders that night to see if they could find any more information. They kept getting more suspicious as they went.

Chuck started to wake. He thought for a second that he was in bed with Sarah. Something was moving beside his leg. Then he realized where he was. He did not move. 'Come on flash…flash. What do I do?…flash. Come on…Crocodiles..Marlin…Dundee...roundups…pits. What?' He reached in a swoop, grabbed and almost screamed. He looked at the rattler and quickly threw it over the side. Putting the weight on his arm, he passed out again.

Casey and Mary got their last coffee and called it a night. They got their night rolls out and pulled close to each other. Casey got Mary's attention and gave her a kiss. They held it for a while and then Casey whisper, "Sarah would never do this and not give us some word. And Chuck knows enough tricks these days to paint it in the sky without anyone else knowing. Something is wrong."

Mary kissed him a few times and then got in position to whisper, "I'll see if we can get help."

Casey's next whisper was, "What you going to do leave some sign in the dust?"

Mary bumped him and got his ear. She was almost biting it off, "I can sneak a gun into a gang meeting. What, you don't think I could sneak a cell phone into a roundup." She kissed his ear. "But we'll have to wait till morning. It gives off too much light."

Mary kissed him a few more times, and then whispered, "So do you think they suspect us?"

Casey moved over, "Of course, but they must not be sure yet." Casey held her for a minute, "You got to make sure you stay safe. Night." He fell asleep holding her.

The truck came a while later. Max and Curly had the riders unload the truck. Max asked the Tim, the truck driver, "Vic was going to head back to the ranch after taking care of some business. Did he get there yet?"

"Uh no, we hadn't heard anything from him," Tim responded.

"We caught this woman seeking round the chuck wagon. We gave her a tranquilizer a while back. She could wake up some time soon. I want you to tie her up and take her back to the ranch," Max told them.

Curly grabbed her out of the false bottom of the chuck wagon. He wasn't being all that careful.

Max cut in and got his arm. "What are you doing? Watch her head. Trying to wake her or everyone in camp? Get her tied up. I want some answers. If the Halverson's don't want her, you can have her later. Go on, get going."

Curly got a rope from the wagon and trussed Sarah up tight. They put her in the truck bed and finished loading some trash. Tim got in the truck and started back.

Chuck was awake again. He did not move and tried to take stock of how he felt. He felt terrible. His head was beating and his left arm throbbing. His shirt was dried onto his side. Chuck felt the side of his face and it was caked with blood. His shirt on his left should was torn in several places and dried over with blood. He was surprised to see that he had everything with him. He still had the six shooter which left what felt like a bruise on his right hip.

Chuck moved to the back of the cliff. He found a big crack in the rock wall of the canyon. He could not tell how far back it went, moving his hand into the slot. He remembered the snake and withdrew his hand quickly.

He sat down and started to think, _'Okay, I feel rotten. My arm feels like it is broken or something.'_ He pushed a little around the sensitive area, _'Okay bad idea. What were those called? The radial and the…well, I could make a sling out of my shirt.' _

Chuck tried to take his shirt off, _'If that wasn't Sarah, then what is happening? They must have caught her taking the laptop back. But why would they dress someone up like her? Nobody can know what has happened; there are too many regular ranchers from the area. So they are hiding her. And someone like her gets seen by most everyone riding up the canyon wall. Mary must be okay or there would have been two riders. I've got to warn them somehow.'_

Chuck moved over to the side of the cliff. He looked down hoping the distance would not be too bad. Then he saw her. The truck was rumbling down the trail out of the canyon. _'It has to be Sarah. They're taking her away. Oh help.'_

The truck was heading down a part of the road that was more like a washboard than anything. Tim was glued to the steering wheel. Going in and out of the last shadows wasn't helping much. He was driving hard trying to get back as fast as he could. But he still slowed as his teeth were almost rattling out of his head.

Sarah was finally coming awake. The shaking truck and bouncing were wreaking havoc with her neck and head. She had just opened her eyes when something dark and fast was coming down on her. It landed beside her at the same time she landed after being thrown high by a hard bump.

Chuck let out an 'ouff' as he crashed into the truck. It felt like the fall was continuing as the truck took bump after bump. He tried to contain the pain. The motion was still causing him to use his left arm.

Sarah's eyes were big and bright in the reflecting light. Chuck remembered the look. He took off the tape over her mouth.

Sarah said, "Chuck, what are you doing?"

"Ah, what does it look like, I am rescuing you." Chuck got out his pocket knife and worked the ropes by her hands. "Didn't cut you, did I?"

Sarah grabbed the knife and cut her legs free. During another set of nasty washboards, she got Chuck and pulled him over the right side of the truck. They landed on the side of the road, just as the truck took a turn to the left. She held him for a while until he responded.

"Chuck, what were you thinking?" She asked as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Well, the next time Awesome wants to go parachuting, I'll tell him no." Chuck started to smile and kissed her.

They got up and moved away from the road. Sitting down on a rock, Sarah was bent over holding her head. Chuck sat to her right and asked, "Are you okay?"

"My head feels like someone was using it for a soccer ball," Sarah moaned a little.

"Well, can I hold you, do you want to sleep, how can I help?" Chuck asked.

"Just a second," Sarah continued bent over. Then she got up went in back of the bushes and threw up.

Chuck went over to hold her. When she finished and stood up, Chuck asked, "Sarah, are you okay? Did they do something to you? What happened?"

Sarah went back to the rock. Chuck followed pulling his arm back in the make shift sling. She was still bent over. He started rubbing her back and started, "So last I knew I said, 'I love you,' as you were headed back with the laptop."

"I got back to the chuck wagon and no one was around. I got the laptop and was about to put it away. Then I woke, tied up in a truck with you coming down on me. Sorry," she moved his hand away and went back to the bushes.

"Sarah, you don't seem to be getting better." He put his hand on her forehead and felt a fever. "Come on lets head out of this canyon." He stood up, "Wait let me see if I can get a signal."

Chuck pulled out his cell phone and saw that he had two bars. He called Castle first. "This is Chuck secure."

"Liz secure. Are you guys alright? Didn't think you could use phones?" Liz questioned.

"Hey Liz. They caught Sarah taking back the laptop. Just now escaped. They gave her a tranquilizer and she is having a pretty bad reaction to it." Chuck paused to check Sarah.

Liz asked, "What do you need?"

Chief got on, "We got an extraction package on standby. Where is their camp?"

"Their camp was supposed to be at the last pond before the slope out of the canyon. I'll need a couple medics, or better a doctor to take care of Sarah. I have to get back to Mary and Casey. We do not know their status," Chuck said.

Chief said, "We got your position. You need to walk about three miles out off the canyon. We will set that as the pickup point. That way we can be a little quieter."

"Will that be far enough?" Chuck asked.

"That helps, but you are in the worst part for an echo. Down another three miles it flattens out a bit," the chief responded.

"Okay, Chief we'll move." Chuck wondered, "Hey Liz, can you get some surveillance set up. I want to know where everyone is when I come back."

"No problem. We'll have Sarah taken over to the base hospital. By the time we get you back, we will be all set." Liz then asked, "Where are your horses?"

"Well, that's one of the other problems. We don't have them now." Chuck really did not want to explain. "Look they could have a surveillance system too. We better end this. I'll call back in a hour. Thanks." He ended the call.

Chuck slipped his gun belt around and then got Sarah. His right hand was around her waist. "Sarah, we just have to walk a little ways and we'll be alright." He got her started.

Sarah was still feeling bad. She had Chuck stop twice and went to the side of the path with dry heaves. They kept going.

Chuck would rub her back when he thought she was a little steady. He checked her a couple times and thought that her temperature was going up. "Getting there, just a little further."

Chuck felt his phone buzzing. An hour had pasted, he sat Sarah down and then decide he better lay her down. He got out the phone and called Castle, "Chuck secure."

"Steven secure. How you doing Son?" Steven asked.

"Hi Dad. Sarah's getting worse. I don't know how far we are from the extraction point," Chuck answered.

"We have you a half mile away. We'll send the team over to you. Stay there," Steven said.

"Okay, got no problem with that. They might need a stretcher for Sarah. She is getting weaker," an exhausted Chuck said.

"Need anything else?" His dad asked.

"Well, I need a horse to go back. Can you get Mary's wranglers? They had one horse left. We'll arrange to meet up with them after Sarah is okay. I'll text in their cell number." Chuck said sitting down on the rock.

"Okay, they should be to you in a minute. Let us know if there is anything else when you are in the air," Steven said.

"Fine. Thanks Dad." Chuck disconnected.

The Pave Hawk team approached cautiously. They were just a couple more minutes after the phone call. A major introduced himself holding his ID out to Chuck, "Hi, I'm Doc Adams. What's wrong?"

"I am Chuck Bartowski. Sarah seems to have a high temperature, was sick to her stomach, and said she had a headache. She was tranquilized earlier today, by what we'll just call the bad guys right now. I don't know if that was it or not. She woke up when I got her away from them," Chuck explained.

"Hey Shields, get over here and help Mr. Bartowski. Tell him to explain what happened to him." The Doc smiled at Chuck and moved to Sarah. She was already on the stretcher.

It was a fast walk back to the extraction site. Chuck and Sarah were in the air in minutes. Doc Adams stopped by Chuck. "Okay Chuck," he waited for Chuck to nod, ""You apparently have two choices.

"But first, Sarah is okay. It wasn't the tranquilizer; Sergeant Marston found a couple bug bites on her arm. We had a couple cases like this at the hospital last week. So we are pretty certain about this. We already gave her the antibiotics. It's not lymes but has similar symptoms. The surgeon will have to check the two areas. Worst case he'll make a very small cut to see if there is any of the insect in the bite area. But she'll be fine in the morning.

"First choice, agree to stay over until tomorrow morning. We will get you ready to go. Second, don't agree but stay here anyway. We will still fix you up, but you might be asleep," the Doc said leaning close to Chuck so he could hear.

"What? What do you mean?" Chuck asked.

"It means after reporting your probable problems to the hospital commander, we were ordered by the Air Force Surgeon General to make sure you get enough rest and she said to fix you up by I quote, 'any means necessary.' Who are you, Chuck?" He was holding Chuck's wallet with the driver's license for Daryl Anthony Michelson.

"Okay Doc, I'll go with the getting out early. And if you stick with me and get me out by six or the latest six thirty, I'll tell you who I am. Be warned there will be a ton of paperwork to sign. And be warned, she's the boss. So treat her especially well." Chuck smiled.

_A/N __parachuting down a rock wall without a parachute, not awesome. Don't try that at home kids__. Please review. _

_BTW saw Zach on '__Christmas In Rockefeller Center' thought he did great._


	8. Chapter 8 Rangers

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 8-Rangers

**Base Hospital**

When they got to the hospital, Sarah was checked and the surgeon confirmed she would have no problems. She was given an IV and hydrated. Chuck got to see her as she was wheeled up to her room.

Chuck was introduced to the emergency room and told to go take a shower first. When he saw Doc Adams come with him, Chuck asked, "What…What are you doing?"

"Okay, you need to know. Your little option was the path that will or could cause you to pass out. You have to decide how much pain killer we give you. I am here to help you.

"So you know this was not the option we presented to the Surgeon General. I think it was an option presented to her. But at any point you decide to change your mind, we can let you sleep through this." Doc Adams concluded.

"Okay, I understand. But I will not jeopardize my partners on this mission. That means going back. Do you understand?" Chuck was very serious and for a second even he thought he sounded like Casey.

Doc Adams said, "Fine. Now tell me what happened to cause your injuries."

Chuck started, "There will be paperwork. Okay, I was tricked into thinking another rider was Sarah. I only saw them from behind. After tranquilizing and capturing Sarah, they took her shirt and hat and gave it to another rider. I only saw the shirt and hat going up a trail on the side of the canyon. And you are right, since I did not see her hair; I should have wondered whether it was her.

"Anyway, I followed the rider. When I came even, I was on the outside of the trail. The rider was hugging the canyon wall. I know he reached out and hit the right side of my head and face with a revolver.

"I fell off the horse and realized I was in trouble when I could not stop going down the rock face of the canyon wall. That must have been when I scraped my shoulder. I fell at least another two hundred feet, I think. That is likely when I broke my arm. One of the two bones, and no I don't remember their names, is broken. Finally, somewhere in that fall I fell on my colt revolver. And I only say that because if you stay and watch, that side will have a big bruise.

"Let's see more paperwork to know this, but you don't get to know why. I also have a bullet wound in my left arm from a little while ago. It hasn't healed completely. And yeah, the other gunshot wound on my right side is hemorrhaging again. Finally, my leg has some places just about healed from some cement that got kicked up from a bullet that struck nearby.

"So the real question is whether you can actually get me ready for tomorrow?" Chuck closed the shower door.

As the night progressed, Chuck's memories of the Halverson images flashed through his mind. At each point he would grit his teeth and press on. They cleaned up the areas that were bleeding first. That part was the hardest. He was happy he showered first, but this cleaning was hard. They gave him some local anesthetic, but that did not dull all of the pain. When they were about to shave his sideburns and into his hair line, he got Doc Adams to help out. It led to a couple of regular stitches in the area and some superglue stitching by the ear. The shoulder actually took the most time for the cleaning. There ten stitches on various cuts. They cleaned the old wounds but did nothing further with them.

Next they took x-rays of the arm. Doc Adams and Chuck went over the options for the arm. They selected a cast that would cover only the lower arm, immobilize the wrist and have a wrap between the thumb and index finger. They were done.

Chuck thanked Doc Adams, "Doc, two more things. Can I sleep up in Sarah's room? There are a couple reasons for that, but it would be best for all of us if I did. Next, I really do need to get out of here about six in the morning. Please do what is necessary to see that can happen and wake me up in time. Oh, I need my phone."

The nurses took him up to Sarah's room in a wheel chair with Doc Adams in tow. When they got there, they found six security police sergeants on guard at the door.

Chuck moved over to the pile of clothes that had been brought for him. Underneath he could see the butt of the Colt. He went back to the door, "Give me a couple minutes then you can come back in and check us.

Chuck initiated the phone call, "Chuck secure."

"Alice secure," was the reply from Castle.

"Okay, how many of you are up are working this?" Chuck asked.

"Well, most of us. Your dad did not do it. You're real boss told us to assist. He apparently got General Beckman and Director Robins involved too. So we are coordinating efforts right now."

Chuck was looking at the Colt and the belt to see if everything was there. He picked up the colt and noticed from the wall lights something he had not seen before, an eagle's head on a parchment. He flashed on the etching in the Colt: an open field with prairie dogs, and the eagle…the original thirteen, the letters, a grant. His only thought, 'It's real?'

Alice continued, "We did have two developments. First, based on what you sent from Max's computer we have enough to tie him to Fulcrum activities. We also got a funds transfer from Theodore Halverson. Actually, it was that piece of information which increased the level of interest in this mission.

"When we called the wranglers from Mary's ranch, they said that they had your horses back. The local sheriff has the horse thief. We have arranged to put guards on the horse thief."

"Good, he is likely Fulcrum or getting ready to be one." Chuck said.

Alice said, "Okay. The wranglers will meet you at Pine Ridge. It is a town, more like a post office, near the end of the canyon. I have been told to have you get some sleep. The helicopter crew will have more information for you."

Chuck held the phone hard, someone else was helping calling the shots on this. Chuck said, "Please tell everyone thank you. You are the people who make this work. Then Alice, I have one other thing." He hung up after he explained.

**The Trail**

Sunrise was just putting a glow in the morning sky. Casey kissed Mary on her forehead. She snuggled back with him for a minute, then moved up to kiss him and whispered, "Just a second."

Mary got under the covers and Casey clamped them down. Mary typed, 'Need help. Sarah likely captured. Chuck location unk. Halversons here.'

The reply back said, 'Copy. C&S at hospital. To meet C at 6:30. Numbers?'

She sent back, '4 leads, 20 riders, plus.'

The final response was, 'Copy. Will tell C plan.'

Mary's last response was, 'OK MR.' She turned off the phone and hid it again. She moved up to Casey and whispered, "Chuck and Sarah were at the hospital last night. Chuck is meeting the wranglers at 6:30. They will get help."

Casey bent down and whispered, "Did you tell them about the Halversons?"

Mary thought about it a second and nodded her head.

"Are they going to help?" asked Casey.

Mary nodded again and then in a whisper, "That okay?"

Casey's head also nodded, "Fine." He moved closer to her ear and kissed her there. "I want you to be careful today." He started kissing her and moved down below her neck.

Her immediate response was to wrap around him. She lasted a little and then bent to his ear, "I told you. Why are you doing this?"

Casey smiled and said in a whisper, "To make sure you remember why to be careful."

Casey could not have said much more as Mary covered him in a long and tender kiss.

**Base Hospital **

Doc Adams came in Sarah's room and woke Chuck in the other bed, "Time to get ready. Let us check you. We will cover the wounds with some wrap, then you can take a shower."

Chuck said, "Hum," with a thermometer stuck in his mouth.

A nurse and Doc Adams checked him over and got him ready for a shower. When he got back they peeled off the wrap and checked the bandages.

Doc Adams said, "You are ready to go. Well, as ready as we can get you. I'll wait for you by the nurses' desk."

Sarah turned over to see him putting his tee shirt on, "Oh no. Chuck, what happened? Come here." She swung her legs out from the bed and sat up.

Chuck pulled up his blue jeans and stepped over to Sarah. "Sorry, you were so sick. Are you okay now?"

Sarah looked at him, "No. You tell me what happened to you first, and what you are going to do."

"Well, like I told the guys out front, you are the boss. By the way one of them is really a good guy, Doc Adams. He has been helping me make sure you would be alright." Chuck got out.

Sarah cut him off with her hand. "Stop. What happened to you?"

"I fell." He looked at her. "Okay, someone hit me and I fell off my horse." He held up his cast. "Doc said I broke the radius. I'm okay.

"I am going to meet Mary's wranglers at Pine Ridge." He finished putting on his shirt and buckled and tied down the holster.

Sarah realized what he was doing, "You're going back?"

"I have to. We don't know what has happened with Mary and Casey. Max may not really know what is happening. And we know the Halversons transferred money to Max, but not why.

"I have to try and get Mary and Casey out at least. When they check and release you, you can join up with the wranglers. I tell them to connect with you. But now it is your turn. Are you okay?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, that tranquilizer is worn off and whatever reaction I had seems better," Sarah said.

Chuck interjected, "It wasn't the tranquilizer. You had a couple of insect bites that made you sick. They gave you some antibiotics. Are you still tired?"

"Yes, but not enough to just let you go," Sarah got the robe and got out of bed. She started to slip.

"Nope, the Doc gets to say when you can go." Chuck held her and gave her a kiss. "I'll tell them to check in on you. Oh, I think the Doc would be good to have with our team. Check him out. If you agree, bring him along. I love you and will be back." Chuck walked out of the room.

Chuck went to the nurses' desk. "She wants to get out of here quickly. But please check her and see that she is alright first. Doc, you might want to come with me."

Chuck and the doctor got down to door out to the waiting helicopter. An airman was waiting and said, "Sir, I was told to give these to you." Doc Adams reached out for them but the airman gave the package to Chuck and left for the helicopter. Chuck could see the Chief waving his hand.

Chuck looked at Doc Adams and began, "Okay Doc, you wanted to know who or what I am. Read this cover letter and sign at the bottom. Take the rest, read and sign. Give them to Sarah. You'll need to catch the next helicopter with her." He saw the doctor sign the letter.

"Formally, I am a Director in the staff of the DNI. Sarah is a Director on the staff of CIA. The guy I have to go help is the commander of a JTF. You'll never see any of that on one of our business cards. The people we are after on this little operation includes one of the chiefs of a rogue intelligence organization and one or two of the top people leading a large operation in human trafficking. And yes, that's the nice way of saying they run slaves.

"Next, the letter stays in effect. You can read, sign the papers and help us. Or walk away," Chuck concluded. He saw that Doc Adams agreed and started reading the papers.

"She'll likely be a bit upset. So bring her out as quickly as you can check her." Chuck waved as he went out the door.

When Chuck got on board the helicopter, he told the Chief, "Better drop me off quickly and come back. Unless you have a backup waiting?"

**Pine Ridge **

Chuck got out of the helicopter. Chief got out and was followed by five other handpicked Spec Ops sergeants. They quickly got a perimeter established. Chuck walked over to the wranglers and said, "Hi, I apologize, I did not introduce myself when we picked the horses. I am Chuck Bartowski."

The first wrangler started, "Hi, I am Dave Wheeler. This is Mike Younts, John Waldsman, and Howie Newman." They all shook hands and went to a table that the Chief had set up.

Chief pointed to the map and the end of the canyon. He said, "We do have the last position of their camp at the base of the hill. They are at the pond down here. There is a trail coming out the end of the canyon they will use to get up here. Then it is another ten miles to where they will pasture the cattle."

Dave said, "We checked with the Sheriff. He said the path down to the pond from this position is fairly good. It will be an easier ride than the one the horse thief came up with. Do you want two of us to go down with you?"

"Ah, no. I'll go down first and see what is going on," Chuck replied. "But Chief, how are we going to take so many of them?"

Chief pointed to Dave.

Dave said, "Mary got us a little while ago. Sorry that we did not know ahead of time. Her dad and uncle are coming up to help. They will be bringing our horses and gear. We did not know how many people Mary had with her. Now that you and the chief are here, how many people do you have that can ride?"

"I think you are looking at him. Chief, do any of the detail folks know how?" Chuck asked.

"Well, only one of them said they could ride and shoot at the same time," the chief shook his head.

Dave continued, "Well, then we will have to wait for Mary's dad. Between us and her uncle's folks, there will be twelve Marshals and twenty Rangers. We will have them, horses and equipment up here at Noon.

"Our best position to take them will be about three quarters up the slope. We can put ten men down over the trail you'll use, and meet their front with more than twenty. That should be enough to hold them in," Dave concluded.

Chuck said, "That's good. I am hoping this will be an obvious show that they are outnumbered and to surrender. But you need to tell everyone, that we have seen many of these people go down shooting rather than give up."

"We understand," said Dave. The others nodded.

While Chuck was getting set up to head back, Sarah's helicopter arrived. The Doc and LT were on the flight.

Sarah came almost marching straight to Chuck. She said, "You come here." She walked with Chuck almost over to the furthest guard. "Someone hit you huh? Fell off your horse huh? Just broke your arm huh? We are going to have a talk before anything starts."

"What?" Chuck tried to look innocent.

"You know what. You follow someone up a cliff trail on a horse you have been on for only two days. You get pistol whipped, fall who really knows how far, probably almost die, and you don't tell me?" Sarah stared at him. Her mouth had no smile to it.

Chuck's smile went away also. "First you explain why, after I told you I would act like your boy friend on this mission. Cause I am. That you come to get the laptop and your shirt's out. Then I see you, your shirt is almost completely out and you would not stop to talk." Chuck paused to think about what he just said. "Wait forget the last part, I now know that wasn't you. But you get the computer and only say, 'yeah,' with your shirt out."

"Chuck, you know that sometimes we have to do things," Sarah started to say.

Chuck held his hand up, "New rule, order, regulation, or whatever. You especially and then anyone that works on our teams will not ever do the things you were about to suggest. Non-negotiable. Especially for you. And then."

She looked at him like she was about to say something. He held his hand up.

"You are definitely right. I should not have hid my wounds from you. That will be a counterpart rule or whatever. We have to know the state of health for everyone on the team." Chuck looked at her and saw the smile coming back. He then continued, "I am sorry. I did something because I wanted to get the Halversons so bad. My fault, please forgive me."

"Why do you always have to be right?" Sarah asked as she started. "I know we have to get the Halversons." She saw him start to raise his hand. "No wait, I was right too. I saw you wince when I said you almost died. What happened?"

"I landed on a ledge and a rattlesnake decided to be my new best buddy. I can hardly believe it, but in a flash," Chuck smiled big, "I grabbed it below the head and threw it over the cliff. I am lucky I landed on the truck with you. I was sure he was still down there waiting for me.' His whole body shook at the thought.

Then Chuck looked at her, "So will you forgive me?"

"Alright, but you need to know that, I am not sure why, could have been because I did not tell you about the Halversons before you flashed on them. I am still sorry that I didn't warn you. "But yesterday, I rushed it and should have talked it over with you. I wanted to get the laptop and be done. I shouldn't have gone up there with Curly. But nothing happened. He tried to get me just before I jumped from the chuck wagon. He only got my shirt. But it made me upset. Something that would have never happened before. That made it more upsetting. When I got back to you, and then started back with the laptop, I was completely upset. We should have talked about an approach. No one was covering for me and I was captured like a stupidly new rookie." She looked at Chuck.

Chuck said, "Well, having never stayed in the car when you guys told me, you know what I want. Forgiveness." He held his hands up and Sarah rushed into him. The he said, "I love you."

She looked at him, "You know I do, forever." She kissed him.

"Oh, before we go back. We got more help on this one than normal. My real boss is involved. He has both Kelly and Beckman working this. And I think there may be more to Mary or her family. There is a piece of this that needs to wait until we get back to Castle. But Mary has her dad and uncle along with her wranglers. They are far more than I thought. They are a mix of Marshals and Rangers.

"Finally, and this was not my idea. They have one requirement to anyone to ride with them. You have to be able to ride and shoot," Chuck threw his hands up. "That's what they told the chief when they were discussing taking the Spec Ops guys.

"You ready? I have to head out right now. Chief or Dave Wheeler, one of the wranglers, will tell you the plan. Okay?" Chuck got Sarah around the waist and gave her a long kiss.

Chuck got on his horse and started back to the camp. Mike Younts accompanied Chuck to the edge of the canyon.

Sarah joined the others. Dave gave her an explanation of the plan. She asked if she could join them. After a little hemming and hawing, she got the idea. Chuck was right these people would not take someone who could not ride and shoot. She finally got them to agree to go out to a range and see what she could do.

Doc got an appreciation of Sarah after watching the others. The wranglers would not call her anything but Ma'am. And he could tell Chief and LT were more than possessive about making sure she stayed safe. He decided that he was right, these were good people to be with.

**The Trail**

Chuck walked his horse into the camp. Max was there along with Casey and Mary. "I could not find her. She came storming at me about something Curly did, asked if I had lunch and then took off. I saw her way up on top of the canyon wall. I tried to get her but never caught up with her. Then my horse got spooked by a rattler and I fell off." He held up his arm. "Would have called but you all left your phones behind. So anyway, got this fixed and came back so you'd know. I told the local sheriff about her. Would like to get our horse back."

_A/N could not imagine Chuck and Sarah together without a little spat every once in a while. But then again I did not want to turn it into a range war. Please review while we rustle up some grub. _


	9. Chapter 9 The Fight

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 9-the Fight

**The Trail**

Chuck walked his horse into the camp. Max was there along with Casey and Mary. Casey went over to him and gave him a bear hug, "Glad you're back. Sorry, thought she had more in her than that." He looked over to Max. "When we starting back up?"

"We will head up the canyon in another twenty minutes. Better pack up if you haven't." Max asked, "Want a cup?"

"Sure, be back in a second." Chuck nodded to Casey and headed over to the facilities.

Casey went back to the bed rolls with Mary to pack up. Mary said, "Well, I am glad he got back. Looks okay for falling off a horse."

Casey raised an eye brow, he pointed to the side of his head. "Yeah, not too bad." When they got closer Casey whispered, "Careful, he is more banged up than it seems. Right side of his face is doctored up and he is favoring his left shoulder. We need to talk with him. If I can't get close, you welcome him back and take him to the side to talk."

They were rolling up their bags when Chuck came over. Lynn Watts was next to them dong the same.

Mary finished up and gave her roll to Casey. "Tony, I am so sorry. She seemed like a good girl." She gave him a hug. He winced almost noticeably when she put her hand on his shoulder. "Why don't we go have a talk?" She pointed to a fallen tree that looked like a good bench and was a little ways off.

When they got over to the tree, Casey would have thought looking at the two that it was Chuck and Ellie. She was doting over him so much.

"I think we are far enough away to talk and everyone will think it's just a big sister thing. But are you okay?" Mary asked holding his arm and checking the cast.

"Ouch, don't twist it that way. Okay, I promised Sarah this is one of our new rules that we tell each other how we are doing on missions. That means no hold backs. My arm is broken. Head has several stitches and glue." Chuck saw Mary's questioning look. "It does not show as much. Left shoulder has multiple stitches. Severe bruise on the right hip and last gunshot wound is seeping.

"Next, new rule. We will never have one of our team attempt to use themselves. Okay, I haven't figure out the wording for this one. But while you are working for us, I don't want you or any of the others to make advances on a mark. Clear enough?" asked Chuck.

"Yes, I understand. And thank you," Mary gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Then, well first, when we get back, I want to have a discussion with you." He pulled his Colt and pointed to the etching.

Mary nodded like she knew what he was talking about.

"Well, okay then. Your folks are going to meet us about three quarters of the way of the slope. They will have ten riders behind us and more than twenty blocking the path. They have surveillance up to check progress." He reached in his pocket and got the phones. "Hold my hands and take these phones. They are connected to the network.

"Finally, be careful. It will be a while before we meet with the wranglers," Chuck concluded.

Max was still over by the fire. He waved Curly over. Max said, "I need to be sure about these Michelsons. We have not heard anything from Vic or about the girl. She could have been sent to get the laptop, or they could all be involved."

"So what do you want to do?" asked Curly.

"I want you to pick a fight with Tony, the younger brother. I want to see if he fights like a normal cowpoke or starts fighting like some sort of trained government agent. If he is, kill him. Otherwise, have some fun while I get his brother to help break up the fight. Do it when he comes to get a cup of coffee. I'll have Hank and Jack keep the brother and his wife occupied down by their horses." Max pointed toward Chuck.

Casey and Mary were taking their bed rolls down to the horses. They were a little ways away from the camp and the camp was not visible from there. Chuck came up to the fire.

"Hey, could I get a cup?" Chuck asked. He was looking around and saw Curly and Max at the fire. No one else was around.

Curly said, "Sure kid. Some girl that blond, huh?"

Chuck caught off guard said, "Yeah, she very nice."

Curly went on, "Her skin was nice and soft."

"What are you talking about?" asked Chuck.

"Well, you know she kind of opened up for everyone," Curly continued.

"Uh, could I have my coffee?" Chuck was beginning to realize this was wrong. _'Sarah told me nothing happened, unless these guys. Oh they had better not have.'_

"Yeah, that shirt came off and then the tee shirt. She was so soft underneath." Curly kept prodding. He gave him the cup.

"And when would she have done that?" Chuck asked trying to find out if it was when they tranquilized her. Curly was pouring the coffee.

Curly kept it going, "Why when she came up to sit for a while. She got friendly. She must have been looking for a little more action than she was getting from you. She took off…"

Curly had stopped pouring but Chuck's hand was almost burning off with the hot tin cup. He was switching hands while Curly was talking. Some of the coffee spilled on his hand, "Sheee."

The coffee was down Curly's left leg. "You..." Curly threw the coffee pot down and started a left jab at Chuck.

'_She did not, a set up. Why?' _Chuck flashed…Queensberry, Quiet, Fight, Alaska, Ali…Chuck pulled back. He put his arms up. The cup had stuck on his finger. Curly came at Chuck full force with a right hook. Chuck meant to side step it and throw a punch but he brought his hand down on the back of Curly's head. The tin cup went flying. Curly spun around and came at Chuck with two short right jabs. Chuck blocked both with his cast. Curly came with a left uppercut. They were moving toward each other too fast and the punch landed on Chuck chest. Chuck did bend over, but came up fast and landed a solid head butt to Curl's chin. Curly was a bit dazed but was growing mad.

**Pine Ridge **

The surveillance platform was close enough at this point to be transmitting the action. The tent was crowded with everyone watching the two go at each other. The wranglers and a couple of the Spec Ops sergeants were cheering them on. By this time Sarah was screaming in to the mic. "Casey can you hear me, Casey." LT was on the other line trying to get Mary. Doc was standing back starting to wonder whether he had just throw-in with a bunch of lunatics.

**The Trail**

Chuck saw that Curly was taking some other fighting form. He glanced at Max. He wasn't doing anything. _'This is a set up. Max is trying to decide.' _

Chuck looked at Curly. He was coming at Chuck from a Kung Fu stance. Curly's first move was a crescent kick. Chuck saw it coming and moved to Curly's side as the foot came up. Chuck swung his right elbow at Curly's head and landed a solid blow. Curly went with a series of front kicks. Chuck looked surprised, he was able to move back or block most of them. Finally, Chuck gave Curly a little surprise when he caught Curly's foot and pulled the boot off. Chuck took the boot and swung it at Curly's head. Curly did get Chuck with a center punch and gave him a bloody nose with the accompanying back fist. Curly was at a slight imbalance without the boot. And it was enough that Chuck was able to trip him.

Curly rolled quickly. He pulled off the other boot and came up. He looked over at Max and shrugged. Chuck caught both of them, _'Trying to figure out if I can fight?'_

**Pine Ridge **

Chief was watching the fight and went to Sarah. Chief said, "He looks like he is doing okay."

"It is not okay Chief. He was injured yesterday. You saw him. And that is a trained assassin. I have to get Casey," she went back to the mic.

**The Trail**

Curly came at Chuck with Karate moves. He used a forward punch followed by a round house punch that landed on the left side of Chuck's jaw. Chuck countered with two jabs and then wrapped his arms around him. Curly started a forward snap with his left foot and his knee caught the bruised area on Chuck's hip. Chuck pulled hard to the side and they both went to the ground. Chuck just started kicking and head butting on Curly. He was happy for a second when he saw Curly's nose start bleeding. Curly was able to free one of his hands and used a two finger push at the base of Chuck's throat to get away.

As Curly got up he shook his head. Max nodded and walked away. Chuck did not see the sequence.

Casey and Mary were finally headed back with their horses. They had their ear pieces in. They got it at the same time. "Chuck is in a fight near the chuck wagon. He needs help."

Max was coming down toward them. Casey rubbed his cheek and then hair, and palmed the receiver. Mary swatted at some horse fly and did the same. Max said, "Need help. Your brother and Curly started fighting over that blond. I can't get them apart."

Chuck saw Curly coming against him. Curly had a slight smile. Curly started with a left hook. Chuck blocked that with his right arm moving it out of the way. But Curly then got through with an uppercut to Chuck's solar plexus. Chuck backed off trying to get some air. Curly took a shot at Chuck's right knee with a short kick and when in with a double knuckle punch. Chuck stumbled back and fell. Timing is everything. Curly came up to Chuck straight on. Chuck kicked as hard as possible and got Curly between the legs but did not connect. Chuck rolled over to get up and Curly was still there. He started kicking Chuck in the stomach and the left side.

Max, Casey and Mary came up at that time. Chuck tried one more. With all he had left he kicked right at Curly's left knee. He heard a pop and Curly went down.

Max went to Curly, "I told you no fighting. I don't' know why I pay you. Go get the cooks to take care of you. You're riding drag this morning."

Curly got up and hobbled away.

"Look I am very sorry," Max said and walked away.

Chuck said, "Well, I am glad he was sorry."

Casey looked at him, "Oh way to ingratiate yourself to the host." It came with a growl.

"Look I did not start this. Well, I might have, I spilled some coffee on Curly. But he was trying hard to start a fight. He started trash talking Sarah." Chuck reached over and whispered to Mary, "It was a set up and I knew it. Curly was lying about the stuff he said about Sarah. The only thing I can figure is that they were trying to make sure I wasn't more than a rancher."

Mary started checking his face. She saw the kicking and began to reach down to his shirt. "Tony, are you okay?"

Chuck said, "Kind of." Then he moved closer again and said in a whisper, "Not really. But if you take off my shirt, they'll see how bad I am hurt from yesterday. And that could change things. You can tell Sarah, that if we haven't had our little discussion this morning, things would have been a lot worse here."

Mary looked at him. "Come over here, we'll see what we can do. They are going to start up soon."

When they got off to the side, they put their ear pieces back in position.

**Pine Ridge **

Sarah was the first to ask, "I would like to know what happened, why and how bad. Tell me when you can."

Chief motioned her to the side. "While we are waiting for them, listen to this. Chuck had his phone on. I enhanced the sound a little. I picked him up from the time he entered the camp. And while it is not pertinent right now, thank you both for the rules. This is from when he asks for a cup of coffee."

Sarah listened to the entire recording. She looked at Chief and said, "Thanks. None of what Curly said was true. He was trying to start a fight."

Chief sat next to her and said, "Right, and the real question is why would Curly do that?"

The riders were out and the herd was slowly starting up. Mary was alone first and started, "Chuck said that he did not start fight. Curly was trying hard to start a fight. Chuck said that it was a set up to see if he was more than just a rancher. Whatever Chuck did worked. Max told Curly to ride drag." Mary looked around no one but a couple noisy steers were nearby. "I did not get to check him. We did see Curly kicking his side. There are outriders next to Chuck and Casey. Curly is riding drag. Max and the Halversons are riding in or around the chuck wagon."

Sarah said, "Let us know if anything changes."

Sarah gave the head set to LT and turned to Dave, "Let's go see if I can qualify."

Dave and Sarah rode at a good pace for about a mile to the range the wranglers set up. Dave said, "Ma'am, you need to complete the course in two minutes. Which means you will need to be going at least as fast as what we did when we rode over. The targets will come up with a big X on them like this one. The question mark pop ups will be the good guys. Also, Blue has been on a range before. So you should not be getting too much of a reaction from him. Ready." Dave wave his hat.

Sarah did get one concession. She was able to use her Glock on the range. She really liked the colt, but did not want to use it as she had no practice with it. Sarah was impressed with the range. They had done a nice job setting it up. The path was clear. She saw a stump on the left and thought it would be a likely place for the first target. She got her Glock out. The target came up just as she thought. She took the two shots and kept moving. The next was a fallen tree on the right. The target came up and she got two easy shots. The next two targets were turns in the path. She got off shots at the first. The second target was a question mark. The next three targets came at switch backs. She got each of the targets. The next was on the straight path and a question mark. The final target was suspended from a rope and heading right for her head. She took the two shots, bent down and got Blue to swerve around it.

When she got back with Dave and the results. She only the switch back targets were off. And they were off to the left or right depending on the turn by less than two inches. Dave agreed that she could join them and invited her down to Mary's for a try at their real range.

Sarah and Dave got back to the tent. The herd was about half way up the slope. There was very little coming in from Chuck and the rest. Mary's dad and uncle were due any minute. Sarah and Dave were going over the plans once more. Dave showed where Sarah would be on the right side to block a path to a mesa next to the canyon.

They did find out that the Doc could ride. They gave him a position in back of Dave and explained that he would have to ride out or take cover if there was any shooting.

The parking area by the tent and make shift headquarters was getting very busy. Mary's dad and uncle pulled up to the tent. Behind them a couple minibuses pulled up with the wrangles and gear. Horse trailers were pulling in every minute. A small coral was put in place and horses lead in there for a stretch.

Mary's dad came over to meet Sarah and the others. "Good morning Miss Walker, I am Carlos Ramirez. I am so please to meet you."

Sarah was a bit taken back. Carlos was as tall as Chuck and Casey and as fit as either. He had dark hair that was grey on the sides and with speckles of gray beginning on top. He was wearing a dark shirt with a dark brown leather jacket.

"Mister Ramirez, thank you so much for coming to our aid," Sarah said. "Please call me Sarah."

"It would be an honor. And this is my brother," Carlos said.

"And good morning Miss. I am Philip Ramirez. Mary's uncle. Is everyone all right?" Philip asked.

"Mary is fine," Sarah said. "Colonel John Casey, we call him Casey, is fine. Chuck was hurt yesterday. I can give you the details if you feel it is necessary. Today, Maximillion de Brouget, otherwise known as Max, had his trail boss, Curly Johnson, a known assassin, pick a fight with Chuck. Chief Scotts will tell you that Chuck won. But I think he received some further injuries."

Carlos interrupted, "How about you?"

That caught Sarah off guard, "Oh, I am fine. Max did catch me yesterday. Chuck helped me escape, but not until I got two bug bites. Mary probably heard. I was very sick from the insect bites. But I had an antibiotic at the hospital last night. I am fine now. Thank you."

Carlos responded, "Mr. Bartowski is a fine man."

"Oh yes, he'll likely be on-line with us shortly," Sarah said trying to keep track of who would be involved.

"Oh, pardon me; I was not talking about Orion, but your fiancée." Carlos smiled at her. "He is a fine young man, I am sure you are proud of him. And we are very pleased and happy that Mary is now working for you."

The scene was interrupted at that point. The terminals that were active displayed a new image, "Good afternoon, Director Walker. Carlos and Philip, thank you for joining us in this pursuit. I think our combined efforts will be rewarded this time. Sarah has a very good team and with your support we should be able to conclude the Halverson's activities and tidy up a couple loose ends within our ranks," concluded Chuck's boss, the Honorable John H. Wabash.

_A/N Hope you liked the fight. It just would not be a western without one. Not sure whether there will be one between Casey and Max. Please review. _


	10. Chapter 10 Stampede

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 10 Stampede

**Pine Ridge **

Sarah studied Carlos and Philip Ramirez for a second. She was a bit surprised they knew Chuck's boss, but even more surprised that they knew his dad as Orion. She began, "Good afternoon sir." She looked at LT; he gave her a thumbs up. "Just as a reference we also have Director Robins on line, General Beckman, General Mathews, who is supporting with surveillance assets, and Mister Johnson, the SAC from Sacramento. Our crew here at Pine Ridge includes Chief Scotts and Agent Lawrence Taylor. At our base called Castle, we have Mister Steven Bartowski, Special Agent Alice Kazan, Miss Liz Reynolds, and Agent Elton Devers. Our people with the cattle drive have ear phones and if they are not being watched should be listening in. They include Director Chuck Bartowski, Colonel John Casey, and Special Agent Mary Ramirez."

"Yes, thank you Sarah." John commended her for knowing what he was wanted with one of the phone calls. The Honorable John H. Wabash was an icon in the intelligence world. He had been everything including an undercover agent in the Cold War, a lawyer, a strategic politico-military analyst, a federal judge, ambassador and the head of several intelligence agencies at various times. In most cases listening to him or seeking his advice made people think they were at a dean's office in an Ivy League school.

"Now so we all agree, Sarah has the tactical command of this situation. Kelly and Diane here have already agreed with that. Roy, do you have any problems?"

"No sir," answered SAC Johnson.

"Carlos, I assume you and your special task force has no problem. Am I correct in my assumption?" asked John.

"Yes, John. And we have checked. She will be riding with us," added Carlos.

"Carlos once again, I do appreciate you thoroughness in these operations." John asked, "Sarah, could you review the plans and any contingencies?"

Sarah reviewed the plan with those on-line while Carlos' men got the other horses and equipment ready.

**The Trail**

Chuck, Casey and Mary heard about half of the plan before Max's riders came over and said they were going to have a break. Max apparently wanted to see them.

"Thank you for coming over. I really wasn't sure what you were thinking after that mess with Curly this morning. Once again, I am sorry for what he did," Max said while taking a sip of coffee.

Chuck said, "Certainly, just a misunderstanding. And you can tell him that I did not mean to spill the coffee on him." Chuck smiled.

Max smiled and offered Chuck a cup. "Well, I would like to talk with you two for a minute. If your wife would not mind, Julie Halverson would like to talk with her. She is over by the horses."

Mary got a cup of coffee and headed over to Julie.

"I am interested in finding another source of cattle. The previous one that I had a deal with has gone into foreclosure. I am looking for one hundred head this year with expansion in the following years," Max offered.

Casey and Chuck looked at each other. Casey said, "Well, we could handle half of that this year with prime stock. More than that and you would be looking at cast offs."

"That would be at least a start. If we got you hooked up with the Watts', they may be able to increase your breeding program. They have a pretty good method," responded Max.

Chuck then said, "That sounds interesting." Looking at Casey he said, "We would have to hire a few more hands."

Max looked up at the statement, "I have been working with Ted Halverson on a support program. We might be able to extend that to you."

Chuck asked, "What would that entail?"

"The conditions are that Ted brings in his own foreman. He and possibly a second, depending on the size of your overall operation, will then run everything for you. Ted will arrange housing and transport," Max answered.

Casey quip, "So what are these guys, Aggies?"

Max looked at him for a moment, "You'll find they generally come from quite a ways south of that. You have any problems with that? Like government sales that may force labor inspections?"

Casey answered more seriously, "No. We don't have any projects like that. We are pretty well independent. How would you intend to do this?"

Max said, "It could be simple for a start. Let's say for the fifty head over the summer, we provide the manpower. That would be about twelve people including the foreman. If at any point, you have a problem call me and we'll take care of it."

"That sounds pretty inviting. Let us talk it over and we will let you know by the time we bed down tonight," Casey said.

"I think you boys will like this. It is a cheap source of labor and I'll get some prime beef." Max shook their hands and got back on his horse. "I'll see you later."

As Max rode off, Casey palmed his ear phone and asked, "You guys get all of that?"

He heard back, "Yes." Then he took it out again.

Mary came back over.

Casey asked, "What was that about?"

"She just was asking about our ranch and how we operated. She seemed interested in how many people it took to run the place. And then a few questions about the number of cattle we have and if we did anything else. They are going to join me on the left flank." Mary looked at Casey and Chuck and asked, "Has that got anything to do with the offer Max made you?"

Casey took her hand, "It may have." Then Casey took her closer and whispered in her ear, "Or they could still be trying to check us out."

Chuck purposely bumped into Casey, "Take special care of Kam." Casey looked at him and grunted. When Chuck got close enough he whispered, "The Halversons will try to do worse than kill her, if they find out."

Max began to get the drive going again. All the riders went back out again. Casey did not like the positioning. Mary was an outrider on the left flank toward the back with the Halversons. Chuck was in the middle of the right flank near Max. Casey was back at drag with Curly. As they got their instructions, they repeated them so Sarah would know. They also let everyone know who was nearby.

**Pine Ridge **

Sarah and Carlos were walking over to get their horses. Sarah looked at Carlos and asked, "I would like to know how you know Orion?"

"Yes, quite a character," Carlos began. "Well my dear, as you have noticed we are a little more than just ranchers. Our family has been in some type law enforcement for the past one hundred and fifty years. A while ago our group had the job to capture Orion when he was in the States. Obviously we failed. Until just recently, we confirmed his presence at then Miss Eleanor Bartowski's residence.

"Please accept my apologies. But I did want to verify that Orion was Mr. Bartowski. I suspect some day you would like to stop by and compare notes.

"Also, Mary may not know much about this. Other than I was gone a lot more than I should have been," Carlos ended.

"I would imagine that Steven would be very interested in talking with you. A very interesting comparison of notes," Sarah smiled at him.

Sarah and Carlos got on their horses and started over to where everyone was forming up.

Sarah, Carlos, Philip and Dave, started out with their group. Ray, the foreman from Mary's ranch, with nine others started to the back trail. Chief and LT along with the Spec Ops sergeants stayed back at the tent.

With the surveillance assets in place, the plan and positioning were working perfectly.

**The Trail**

Ray's riders formed in a group of ten behind Curly and the other drag riders. In front a group of ten led by Philip swung wide to cover the left flank. The right flank was led by Carlos. Sarah and Dave went with a group of three others to cover the trail that bent to the right and headed up a Mesa.

With the herd drawn out, the lead riders on both flanks had no backing and surrendered quickly. The problem started in the back. Curly saw three of Ray's rangers coming up to position on the left side of the drag line.

Curly called out, "Hey, we are running a drive here. There's no passage through the canyon till we are out."

One of the rangers started to pull out his revolver. Curly did not hesitate. His Glock was out and up before the other rider finished. He had not completed his aim, but started to fire. The first shot hit the pummel of the ranger's horse and went on to hit the ranger above the belt buckle. The other drag riders pulled their weapons and began to converge on Curly.

Casey was on the right side of the drag line had his out Colt out. As two of the riders going to Curly's assistance approached, Casey pointed to their weapons, "Leave them in their holsters and get down."

Curly shot at the other two rangers, hitting one in the shoulder. The ranger dropped out of the saddle. The other drag riders got to Curly's position. Curly pointed to the rangers coming up from behind and yelled to his riders, "Take them then follow me up the slope."

One of the riders called over to Curly, "That Michelson is with them."

Curly responded, "Get up to Max and tell him. I am going to start a stampede. I'll meet up at the Mesa."

Curly turned to the cattle. He gave the rider a bit of a head start then began shooting into the herd. They were already spooked by the first gun shots and the lagers started to run. Curly angled off to the left of the herd.

Carlos, Sarah and the rest heard the gun shots and then the report from Ray. They had an option for the possibility of a stampede. They identified the Mesa as a likely escape route with a good landing area for helicopters. Dave went to the top of the Mesa with three others. Carlos moved over to Sarah's position and five other wranglers came with him. Sarah's plan was to wait for Chuck and then head to the Mesa.

Mary had two of the outriders with their hands up and the guns on the ground. The Halversons had drifted a head. She was hoping to get them next. Then she heard Chief, "Rider approaching Mary from end of herd."

Mary turned, but not in time. She saw Curly riding up at her. She was starting to wheel around when the loop came over her and she was pulled from her horse.

Curly's lasso dropped over Mary. He wrapped the end of the rope around the pummel and pulled to the back and to the side. He saw her hit the ground. He pulled back further and dragged her a couple yards.

Mary still had her gun in her hand. She was trying to get her elbow below the rope and then get a shot at Curly.

Curly saw her struggling and backed his horse even further. He pulled her far enough that her head hit a rather large rock outcropping. She dropped the gun.

Curly was too focused on Mary to notice. Casey came up from behind, jumped off his horse and tackled Curly. They went down over the left side of Curly's horse. Curly went face first into the dirt. Casey almost had the air knocked out of him. Casey pulled back a little and his right elbow cracked the back of Curly's head.

The two riders Mary had the started to arrest grabbed their guns. Mary had her lasso off and saw their move. The riders' guns were laying aim at Casey. Mary got off four shots.

Casey left Curly. He was sure he saw Mary get off her shots, but swore he heard one more. Casey was almost running when he got to Mary.

She looked up and screamed, "Casey!"

Casey turned pulling his Colt at the same time. He saw Curly getting on his good knee with his hand extending. Curly had his Glock and it was coming around. Casey shot twice. Then he heard the chief, "Colonel, got forty or more steers heading to your position. Go left to the canyon wall."

Casey did not ask. He scooped Mary up. He almost threw her up on Shadow and got behind her. Going for the wall he was able to get passed Dusty and gather his reins. They all made a run for the wall.

Chuck knew that his part in this was starting to unravel. He was behind the Watts. They were riding in the chuck wagon. Max was just a head of them. When they heard the gun shots, Max and the others drew their guns. Chuck also realized that idea of declaring himself a federal agent and arresting everyone was just a dream. There were too many of Max's riders around to even think about it. Finally, he decided his best approach was to play along.

Chuck drew his gun and kept it pointed skyward like the rest. He moved up to the wagon and asked, "Hear anything about what is happening?"

Ted said, "No. No word yet." He pointed at Max. "He should know."

A rider was coming from behind and headed to Max. He got up to Max.

Chuck knew he had little time when he heard, "This is LT. Rider coming from Curly's position about to hook up with Max."

Next, "This is Sarah. Chuck, you need to move out of there. LT guide him."

"This is LT. The stampede is now over half of the herd. Chuck, your best route now open is to the left. Make a hard dash now."

Chuck started fast. Nacoma was a very quick sprinter. He made it a quarter of the way through the herd before Max noticed. Max began shooting and sent three riders after Chuck.

Chuck heard the shooting and saw the riders coming. He flashed…Wild West, Rodgers, rodeo, and gymnastics. Chuck sighed. Now, he understood. At the next shot, he moved headed and to the side on his saddle and then leaned as far to the left while holding on to the pummel. The horse appeared to be rider less.

"This is LT. Chuck, they are still coming at your position. Turn to the right now and go straight up the slope."

Chuck pulled himself back up and got Nacoma to make that quick turn characteristic of a quarter horse. He was headed up the slope. But he realized he was still being used as target practice as two more shots rang out. He made a quick side dismount and hop. Grabbing the pummel with his right hand, his feet hit the ground, bounded up and his right foot came up in the left stirrup.

"This is LT. Chuck, they are headed back. Continue to go straight."

Chuck didn't think he could hold the position, so he jumped to the ground and bounded back into the saddle. He leaned down low to Nacoma's neck, but kept going.

"This is LT. Turn right. You should see the rock formation. That's Sarah's position."

Chuck was able to answer back, "Thanks LT, headed that way."

So was Max. He had gathered a small force and was whipping the cattle on. There were a good hundred head in front of him. They were kicking up a good amount of speed and headed for the fork between the slope up and out of the canyon and the trail to the Mesa. His men started shooting at Carlos and the others.

The fire between the groups intensified as Chuck approached. Two of Carlos' men were already down. One of Max's was down and trampled under the stampede. The chuck wagon was being used as a shield. The driver was crouched behind the buckboard. Max, the Watts and several riders were between it and the canyon wall.

The volleys were concentrated. Two more went down on both sides. Carlos and his men were returning fire. Chuck was watching Sarah. She would change positions from behind the rocks and fire at the on-coming riders.

Another group of riders coming from the left at a diagonal began shooting at Chuck. Chuck reached over and slung himself alongside the left side of Nacoma. The stampede was now moving in the front and coming full force. Chuck's attempt to go straight to Sarah was being deflected.

Carlos and his men were giving way as the stampede was coming over their position. Sarah and one other wrangler were cut off.

"This is Chief Scotts. Colonel Casey you have four riders converging on your position from the front. They are heading for the wall."

Casey was still trying to check Mary. He did not stop and till he got his hand swatted away.

Mary yelled over her shoulder, "What is wrong with you?"

"I thought you got shot," he reached around and held her. He thought for sure he heard a grunt.

They came at them pistols out and blazing. It was the Halversons and two others. They cut down the cattle before them and made a dash for Casey and Mary. They were on each other before their guns could be brought to bear.

Mary and Casey were focused on the left. Max's riders were shooting. Mary took out one of Max's riders, but Julie Halverson came at a gallop beside her hit her over the head and knocked her out.

Casey felt Mary slump in his arms.

_A/N Just posting a correction, I had the Halversons in two places at once (with the chuckwagon and back with Mary). This version corrects that._

_A bit of a western cliffhanger. Please review. _


	11. Chapter 11 End of the Trail

Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 11 End of the Trail

**The Trail**

The stampede was over running the position that Carlos and his men were holding. Sarah and one other wrangler were cut off on the trail to the Mesa. The chuck wagon with Max and his men were rapidly approaching Sarah's position.

The wrangler with Sarah flipped back over his horse, as a shot rang out. Sarah saw the chuck wagon coming up fast. She tried two shots into the buckboard but they seemed to have no effect.

LT was almost screaming at this point, "Sarah, move back and to the right. Head up the trail to the Mesa. Dave is up there with three others."

Sarah pulled Blue to the right and charged up the trail. She left Max and the rest far below. Carlos and his men were fighting their way back to their position. Max and his group were making the turn up the trail.

Philip and three of his men had moved in back of Chuck. They held their ground and got the two riders that were after Chuck.

Chuck weaved the best he could around the on-coming stampede. He was further up the canyon slope but behind Carlos. He spurred Nacoma on to race back at Carlos' position.

As the chuck wagon passed Carlos, Max had the Watts' and a shooter in the chuck wagon and two riders with him. They were racing up the trial.

When Mary slumped in Casey's arms, he spurred Shadow straight ahead. He shot the other rider leaving the Halversons on their own. Knowing the stampede was still coming, Casey continued for the wall. He saw his break. There looked to be a ledge at the wall about five feet off the ground. He stopped Shadow right before it and swung Mary on to the ledge. There were bushes around this part of the wall and they offered some concealment for Mary. He wanted some place to check her and see if she really was okay. Casey moved up ten yards and tied off Dusty to the bushes.

"This is Chief Scotts. Colonel, I got three riders coming down from the slope at your position."

"This is Ray. Mary, I have two rangers heading to your position."

"This is Casey. I think Mary was hit. I have her on a ledge just below my current position. Ray, the Halversons should be headed toward you."

"Scotts here. I have the two riders headed away from the Colonel's position and two headed toward him."

Casey grunted. He emptied the spent cartridges from the Colt and reloaded. Then he pulled the Winchester, got a cartridge in the chamber. _'Always wanted to try this.'_

Timing is everything. Mary woke to watch Casey put the reins in his teeth. He had a weapon in both hands and charged the three on coming riders. Using the Winchester first, he dropped the closest rider. The other two riders began to shoot at Casey. Mary felt good enough to jump from the ledge, or at least until she fell to the ground. She got up and started running to her horse. Casey pumped two shots into the inside rider. The other rider was firing at a constant rate. He got off one shot that knocked the Colt out of Casey's hand. Casey brought the Winchester to position and shot the rider out of the saddle.

Mary got on Dusty and rode over to Casey. "Are you alright?"

Casey shook his hand, "Might have broke something. Still feels numb."

"This is Chief Scotts. Colonel, the Halversons turned back."

Chuck got to Carlos' position. Pointing up the trail, "Do we follow them?

"Yes, my young friend. We follow them. We will try to keep them busy with us while Sarah and Dave close in on them from the top." Carlos pulled out his Winchester and began to fire on the chuck wagon. The wranglers pulled theirs and kept a steady fire on the chuck wagon.

Chuck pulled his Winchester. While he really did not want to shoot with it and really had no intention of it, he wasn't willing to take a chance that something would happen and he would not be ready. They kept moving up the trail.

Sarah, Dave and one wrangler were on the right side of the trail coming out on to the Mesa. Two of the other wranglers were on the other side.

Sarah had them in her sights. She called out, "Put down you weapons and raise your hands."

Carlos and his men heard her and stopped firing. Chuck rode up a little further. Max had put his revolver away and was holding up his hands. The Watts and the other man from inside the wagon were standing beside it with their hands up. The other two riders wheeled their horses and started down toward Chuck. There were four shots that sounded like one.

Sarah turned, "Anyone else?"

Casey noticed the lull in shooting and then the four shots. He looked over at Mary. "How are you doing?"

"Hurts, probably ruined the shirt," Mary smiled.

Casey smiled, then immediately changed, "You have one chance. Put them down and put your hands up." His rifle pointed at the Halversons.

Mary's hand was a blur and pulled out her Colt, "Now."

The Halversons held up their hands. The two wranglers came up from behind and got their guns.

**Pine Ridge **

Medical evacuations were still underway. Most of the causalities in the canyon were air evacuated from the spot. Most of those were Max's riders. Only a couple of the rangers and only one marshal were air lifted. They had been shot in the arms or legs. The first wrangler hit had a vest and a very large bruise. Doc Adams was doing the initial triage on the group.

Sarah and the rest were doing a review. Sarah said, "The Halversons have been transferred to a special containment unit of the U.S. Marshals and they are in transit now."

John added, "Yes, we arranged something special for them. Beside the numerous indictments against them, they made the mistake of escaping from jail before their last sentence had been completed. And now we have their connection with Fulcrum. Well, let's say they should not expect to go riding again."

"Mr. de Brouget is being transferred right now to Mr. Johnson. He and his tactical squad are here to transport him. The other riders are also being transferred to Mr. Johnson," Sarah ended.

"Yes, well I would expect that once we connect the ranchers to their lawyers, we may be able to get other evidence to use in these cases." John said, "Sarah, John, Mary and everyone, I sincerely appreciate your efforts in bringing these people in. Carlos and Philip, remember the next time you are in town, I do want to get together. Finally Chuck, I think it is time to talk. I have arranged a flight for you, Sarah and Doc Adams. It is standing by at the base.

_A/N I truly hope you enjoyed a little Western with Chuck and the crew. Please review. _

_The sequel is being posted. Chuck vs. the Trader_


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